Bali bomb accused 'obeyed'
Kate Lamb, Jakarta
February 21, 2012Indonesian Muslim militant and suspected Bali bomber Umar Patek. Photo: AFP
HE MIXED the deadly cocktail of chemicals in the 700-kilogram Bali bomb that killed 202 people, including 88 Australians, but Umar Patek's lawyers yesterday denied he was responsible for the deaths caused by its explosion.
At the resumption of his trial at West Jakarta Court, Patek's defence team played down his role in the 2002 attacks, arguing that south-east Asia's most notorious bomb-maker was merely following orders.
''The defendant was only responding to Imam Samudra's requests to mix potassium chlorate and sulphur together with Dr Azhari to assemble the bomb,'' Patek's lawyer, Asluddin Hatjani, told the court.
Imam Samudra, together with Amrozi and Mukhlas, were executed for their role in the Bali bombings in 2008, while Malaysian national Dr Husin Azhari was shot dead by Indonesian counter-terrorism forces in East Java in November 2005.
Umar Patek - a veteran of al-Qaeda's camps in Afghanistan and a notorious Jemaah Islamiyah member - is the last of the bombers to face trial for his alleged role in the attack on two Bali nightclubs in Kuta.
In relation to the criminal charge of premeditated mass murder, Patek's defence team argued that he neither planned nor directly executed the attack as he had left the island days before the bomb he helped build was detonated.
''The defendant's role was only in preparation [of the bomb] and providing assistance,'' Mr Hatjani said. ''The defendant does not qualify as someone who participated [in the mass murder] because his role did not cause the bomb explosion,'' he said.
Despite claims that he was not involved in organising the attack, Patek admitted he met the other bombers in Central Java a week later to celebrate and evaluate the success of the bombings.
Patek is charged with terrorism, premeditated mass murder, possession of weapons and explosives, and document fraud. The trial was adjourned until February 27 and is expected to run for four months.
With AAP
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