Denpasar (Indonesia), June 25: Indonesian prosecutors Toda urged a court to proceed with the trial of the alleged chief of the Bali bombing plot despite his claims that interrogators tortured him to extract a statement. The prosecutors said claims by Ali Ghufron, alias Mukhlas, that he had been indecently assaulted and tortured were unacceptable because he had signed the record of his questioning.
Mukhlas is charged with overall responsibility for the attacks on two crowded nightspots last October which killed 202 people from 21 countries.
Police say he is operations chief of the Jemaah Islamiah (JI) regional terror network, which ordered the attack on western holiday makers to avenge injustices to Muslims worldwide.
Bali police chief Mangku Pastika, speaking outside the court, denied that interrogators had tortured Mukhlas. Asked about Mukhlas's retraction of his statement, he said: "Even chicken thieves often retract their statements, let alone terrorists."
Prosecutor Banjar Nahor told the judges: "the defendant has signed a statement that his statements are true and that he has never been under pressure or coercion from any party."
Mukhlas told judges on Monday the record he had signed was incorrect since he had undergone "mental pressure, including brutal and inhuman physical torture".
Mukhlas alleged that he had been stripped "without any single piece of clothing" by his interrogators.
The prosecutors also rejected defence lawyers' arguments that the indictment was flawed, saying it met legal requirements. The trial was adjourned until Monday. Bureau Report