Australia's leader vowed yesterday to pressure Indonesia into ensuring militants convicted of the Bali bombings are punished, after an Indonesian court dropped charges against a confessed conspirator in the attack that killed scores of Australians.
Indonesian Jhoni Hendrawan, alias Idris, was sentenced Tuesday to 10 years in prison for involvement in a bombing at a Jakarta hotel, but was cleared of charges of helping to plan the October 2002 attack on the resort island of Bali.
The ruling followed a decision by Indonesia's Constitutional Court last month that prohibited the retroactive application of the anti-terror law used to charge him. The law had been enacted after the Bali attacks, which killed 202 people including 88 Australians.
Tuesday's verdict raised concern that the 32 militants previously convicted over the Bali bombings could be freed on appeal.
Howard said yesterday he would do all he could to ensure the militants were punished.
"We will continue to put all the legitimate pressure we can on the Indonesian government to make certain that these people remain in jail, remain punished and remain fully accountable before the law," Howard told Australian Broadcasting Corp (ABC) radio.
"I can promise the families of the victims that no stone will be left unturned by my government to see that these people remain behind bars."
Howard also expressed concern that the convicted Bali bombers would appeal, as many of them have said they planned to.
"It doesn't automatically follow that people already in custody and already convicted of offenses can be freed as a result of the Constitutional Court decision," Howard told ABC.
Another 10 defendants face terror charges over Bali and more are expected to be arrested in the ongoing Indonesian police investigation.
After Tuesday's ruling was announced, Foreign Minister Alexander Downer suggested Hendrawan be charged with murder.
Hendrawan was imprisoned for providing the chemicals for the bomb in the J.W. Marriott Hotel blast that killed 12 people in August last year.
Prosecutors had accused Hendrawan of playing a role in the Bali blasts, including attending planning meetings and helping survey the two nightclubs targeted in the attacks.
In earlier court sessions, Hendrawan admitted taking part in both attacks, which he said were aimed at America and "its henchmen who oppress Islam."
Both attacks were blamed on the al-Qaeda linked Jemaah Islamiyah terror network, which allegedly has operatives throughout Southeast Asia.
Incumbent Ecuadoran President Daniel Noboa on Sunday claimed a runaway victory in the nation’s presidential election, after voters endorsed the young leader’s “iron fist” approach to rampant cartel violence. With more than 90 percent of the votes counted, the National Election Council said Noboa had an unassailable 12-point lead over his leftist rival Luisa Gonzalez. Official results showed Noboa with 56 percent of the vote, against Gonzalez’s 44 percent — a far bigger winning margin than expected after a virtual tie in the first round. Speaking to jubilant supporters in his hometown of Olon, the 37-year-old president claimed a “historic victory.” “A huge hug
Two Belgian teenagers on Tuesday were charged with wildlife piracy after they were found with thousands of ants packed in test tubes in what Kenyan authorities said was part of a trend in trafficking smaller and lesser-known species. Lornoy David and Seppe Lodewijckx, two 19-year-olds who were arrested on April 5 with 5,000 ants at a guest house, appeared distraught during their appearance before a magistrate in Nairobi and were comforted in the courtroom by relatives. They told the magistrate that they were collecting the ants for fun and did not know that it was illegal. In a separate criminal case, Kenyan Dennis
A judge in Bangladesh issued an arrest warrant for the British member of parliament and former British economic secretary to the treasury Tulip Siddiq, who is a niece of former Bangladeshi prime minister Sheikh Hasina, who was ousted in August last year in a mass uprising that ended her 15-year rule. The Bangladeshi Anti-Corruption Commission has been investigating allegations against Siddiq that she and her family members, including Hasina, illegally received land in a state-owned township project near Dhaka, the capital. Senior Special Judge of Dhaka Metropolitan Zakir Hossain passed the order on Sunday, after considering charges in three separate cases filed
APPORTIONING BLAME: The US president said that there were ‘millions of people dead because of three people’ — Vladimir Putin, Joe Biden and Volodymyr Zelenskiy US President Donald Trump on Monday resumed his attempts to blame Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy for Russia’s invasion, falsely accusing him of responsibility for “millions” of deaths. Trump — who had a blazing public row in the Oval Office with Zelenskiy six weeks ago — said the Ukranian shared the blame with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who ordered the February 2022 invasion, and then-US president Joe Biden. Trump told reporters that there were “millions of people dead because of three people.” “Let’s say Putin No. 1, but let’s say Biden, who had no idea what the hell he was doing, No. 2, and
RSS