Denpasar, Indonesia, Sept 10: An Indonesian court today sentenced Imam Samudra to death for planning the Bali bombings which killed 202 people in October last year. "The element of planning has been legally and convincingly proven," said Ifa Sudewi, one of the judges.
She was referring to the main charge of having "intentionally planned an act of terrorism by the use of violence or the threat of violence, that caused widespread terror or fear or caused massive victims..." Sudewi, reading the findings of the five-judge panel, said Samudra had denied giving the other Bali plotters orders.
"But the facts during the trial showed that the defendant had ordered Ali Imron to drive the L-300 van to the location of the target," she said.
The van bomb exploded outside the sari club, seconds after a smaller blast at the nearby paddy`s bar. Most victims were foreign tourists. "The defendant is seen as playing a dominant role in the Bali bomb blasts and therefore the judges declare that the defendant is the intellectual actor behind the Bali bomb explosions," Sudewi said.
She said Samudra was also guilty of having provided finance for an act of terrorism, illegally storing explosives and engaging in violence that caused loss of life and damage or destruction of vital facilities. Bureau Report