Three judicial panels at Denpasar District Court finally dropped the review trials for Imam Samudra, Ali Ghufron and Amrozi on Monday after lawyers of the three prisoners on death row dropped their motion for the review.

Their lawyers made the surprising decision following their failure to convince the judges to allow the prisoners to take part in the review trials.

The three prisoners were given the death penalty after being found guilty of the infamous 2002 Bali bombing, which killed 202 people, mostly foreigners.

They are now incarcerated at the Batu Super Maximum Security Prison on Nusa Kambangan island, a one-hour boat trip from Cilacap, Central Java.

The judges argued there was no need to hear from the bombers as witnesses in the trials, saying examinations from previous trials were sufficient.

"We don't see the point in re-examining the prisoners," Judge Daniel Palitin said during the hearing for Ali Ghufron on Monday.

Defense lawyer Fahmi Bachmid did not share the same opinion, saying the bombers should be brought to the trial so the judges could hear their new statements.

"They are the ones who requested the review trials in the first place and, according to criminal law, the requesting party should be present at the trials," he said during Ali Ghufron's hearing session.

Fahmi then declared there was no need to continue the trial if the judges kept refusing the lawyers' request.

Judge Palitin said the defense lawyer could act on behalf of the requesting party during the trials.

"Therefore, the trials were in compliance with criminal law. If the lawyers don't want to continue the trials, then we will drop the case," he said.

The judicial panel in Imam Samudra's review trial comprised Ida Bagus Putu Madeg, Firman Tambunan and Wayan Mertha. Ali Ghufron's panel of judges consisted of Daniel Palitin, Hotma Nainggolan and M Sabir, while Amrozi's comprised Nyoman Sutama, Sigit Sutanto and Martin Bidara.

Prosecutor Made Sudarmaja hailed the judges' decision and told the panels to make the decision official to prevent any legal problems in the future.

Judge Palitin said the decision was official since it was made during the course of the trial and had been recorded by the court's registrar.

Fahmi said outside the court he would consult his clients about further legal steps to be taken.

"The judges have taken the prisoners' right to a fair trial by not allowing their presence," he added.

Denpasar District Court spokesman Ida Bagus Putu Madeg said the judges' decision had not breached the law.

"We are about to submit the statements written during the trials to the Supreme Court, including the statement detailing the termination of the trials by the judges following the lawyers' requests," he said.

However, he declined to give a statement as to whether the Supreme Court would approve the judges' decision to drop the trials or if they would issue a new ruling on the case.

"It is beyond our jurisdiction to give comment on what the Supreme Court judges might do about the case," he told reporters.

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