JURIST - Paper Chase: Indonesia court sentences Bali bomber to 20 years

[JURIST] A five-judge panel for the West Jakarta district court in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Thursday sentenced Umar Patek to 20 years in prison for his role in several terrorist plots including the Jakarta church bombings in 2000 and the 2002 Bali nightclub bombing [BBC backgrounder; JURIST news archive]. Patek was found guilty [WP report] of all charges for his participation in the 2002 bombing that killed 202 people including 88 Australians and seven Americans as well as in the 2000 church attack which killed 19. The prosecution had initially asked the court for a life sentence based on accusations of illegal weapons possession, concealing terrorist acts, immigration violations and premeditated murder in the Bali bombings. Patek is believed to be a member of the alleged terrorist organization, Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) [CFR backgrounder; JURIST news archive], which claimed responsibility for the Bali bombings. During the trial, Patek expressed his remorse [Epoch Times report] for those who died the Bali bombings. He also argued that he only played a small role in it but was forced to participate due to the pressure by the JI senior members.

The trial against Patek, the last of the individuals responsible for the Bali bombings, began [JURIST report] in February. Patek was extradited [JURIST report] by Pakistani government to Indonesia after he was arrested [Jakarta Post report] in Abbottabad, Pakistan, in 2011, a few weeks before US special forces killed Osama Bin Laden [JURIST news archive] in the same town. In November 2008, three men were executed after they were convicted of the 2002 bombings and after the Indonesian Supreme Court rejected [JURIST reports] last-minute appeals filed by relatives of the three men.