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Court refuses to move trial for Bali bombers
Lawyers of the Bali bombers are threatening to boycott future trial sessions, after three panels of judges rejected their second motion for the trial proceedings to be relocated to Java
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Lawyers of the Bali bombers are threatening to boycott future trial sessions, after three panels of judges rejected their second motion for the trial proceedings to be relocated to Java.
The case review trials center on the fates of Amrozi, Imam Samudra and Ali Ghufron, the three key players in the 2002 terrorist bombings at two nightclubs in Kuta. The attack killed 202 people, mostly foreign tourists.
The Denpasar District Court sentenced the three to death, a verdict upheld by the Bali High Court and the Supreme Court.
The lawyers presented their first motion on the first day of the trial, asking the presiding judges to move the trial to Cilacap District Court in Central Java, on the grounds it would make the trial more efficient because their clients were being held at the nearby Nusa Kambangan prison island.
After the first motion was rejected, the lawyers drafted a second motion, in which they requested the relocation to Java of only part of the proceedings, in particular the witness examinations.
They argued as many of their witnesses resided in Java, transporting them to Bali would not only be costly for the lawyers but also be likely to delay the court proceedings.
The presiding judges did not agree.
"We don't think this relocation of witness examinations is an important issue in this trial. It is the lawyers' responsibility and duty to present their witnesses here," Judge Daniel Palitin said.
"After all, this trial, a case review trial, was commenced and conducted at their own request."
Chief prosecutor Supartha Jaya supported the judges' refusal of the defense's second motion, saying the relocation would make the trial sessions ineffective.
He also criticized the lawyers' plan to call the three death row inmates to the witness stand in the case review trial.
"I believe the judges should reject them as witnesses in these trials," he said.
"Their testimonies have been repeatedly presented in previous trials, from the lower to the higher courts. We don't see how similar and exhaustively reiterated information will bring any critical change to these trials."
He said the defense lawyers should instead present significant new evidence to the court.
The Indonesian Criminal Code states a case review trial can only be commenced on the discovery or presentation of new evidence pertaining to the case.
Defense lawyer Fachmi Hamid, of the Muslims Lawyers Team, said he was disappointed with the judges' position and was considering boycotting the trial.
"It is obvious the judges have ignored the defendants' right to a fair hearing, so what else could be expected from this kind of trial other than refusal? I am now thinking of walking out of this court," he said after the court session.
The panel of judges in Imam Samudra's case review trial comprises Ida Bagus Putu Madeg, Firman Tambunan and Wayan Mertha. The panel sitting in Ali Ghufron's case review comprises Daniel Palitin, Hotma Nainggolan and M Sabir, while Amrozi's case review trial is being heard by Nyoman Sutama, Sigit Sutanto and Martin Bidara.
