Alleged bombing mastermind: Alleged Singaporean terrorist leader Muhammad Hasan, alias Fajar Taslim (foreground), and two other terrorist suspects, known as the Palembang group, stand trial Tuesday at the South Jakarta District Court. The verdict for Fajar was delayed after the court needed to complete an administrative document to be able to proceed with the sentencing. (JP/R. Berto Wedhatama)

The South Jakarta District Court on Tuesday handed down 12-year prison sentences for two members of the Palembang terrorist cell on trial for murder and plotting a series of terror attacks.

The judges said the defendants, Abdurahman Taib, alias Musa, and Ki Agus Muhammad Toni,

were responsible for the killing of Christian cleric Dago Simamora in Palembang several years ago and planning a number of terror attacks.

“There is uncontested evidence and testimonies that support the fact that these two played a pivotal role in planning several attacks with terrorist motives, including the killing of Dago Simamora,” judge Syamsudin told the court.

Prosecutors had demanded 15-year prison sentences for the defendants.

The court also revealed that along with his cohorts, Taib was also responsible for plotting to blow up a small but popular café in the tourist resort town of Bukittinggi, West Sumatra.

The café was targeted because it was a favorite hangout for foreign tourists.

But the men canceled their plan after they learned one of the café’s waitresses wore a Muslim headscarf.

The judges said that under Taib’s leadership, the Palembang terrorist cell aggressively targeted people or places they believed were affiliated with anti-Islamic forces.

Taib’s arrest at his home also netted dozens of homemade bombs.

Defense lawyer Ashluddin Hatjani refused to comment on the sentencing of his clients.

In separate trials, two other suspects were sentenced to four and five years in prison after they were found guilty of providing the group with assistance during their escape from the police.

The defendants, Anis Sugandi and Sukarso Abdillah, were found guilty of sheltering the terror group members.

“They should have informed the police about the terrorists’ whereabouts,” presiding judge Suharto told the court.

The trial revealed that Sugandi, who owns an Islamic boarding school in Palembang, lent one of the school’s rooms to Muhammad Hasan, alias Fajar Taslim, a Singaporean who had taught the group various subjects on terrorism.

Abdillah, Sugandi’s personal assistant, was considered to be involved with the cell as he knew about the cell’s activities there, but had refused to report the activities to the police.

Taslim was set for sentencing Tuesday along with his accomplices, but judge Haswandi, the trial’s presiding judge, said Taslim’s trial would be adjourned to April 28 as other judges were not available for the hearing.

The four were part of the Palembang terrorist cell, linked to Southeast Asian terror network Jamaah Islamiyah’s (JI) Singapore branch.

They were arrested last July in Palembang, South Sumatra.

Also part of the group were Ali Masyudi (alias Zuber), Wahyudi (alias Piyo), Sugiarto (alias Sugi Cheng), Aditiawarman (alias Abu Taskid) and Heri Purwanto (alias Abu Hurairah), who had been tried at the same court.

Observers have warned that the discovery of the Palembang cell reveals that terror cells in the country have remained active despite continuous police crackdowns.

In 2006, police shot dead Malaysian bomb maker Dr. Azahari Husein, but his co-conspirator Noordin M. Top is still at large.

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