Bali higher prosecutor`s office preparing for Amrozi et al`s execution

Denpasar (ANTARA News) - Bali`s Higher Public Prosecutor`s Office has done the needed coordination with the provincial police headquarters on preparations for the execution by firing squad of Amrozi et al, the three 2002 Bali bombing death-row convicts, a spokesman said.

"We have coordinated with the Bali police so that any time they have to do their duty, they will be ready," the head of Bali`s Higher Public Prosecutor`s Office, IDP Alit Adhyana, said here Wednesday.

The office had contacted the Bali police on the matter following Attorney General Hendarman Supandji`s statement that the necessary preparations were being made for the implementation of the death sentence of Amrozi, Ghufron alias Mukhlas and Abdul Aziz alias Imam Samudra, the three main culprits in the 2002 bombing tragedy.

The execution of the three men was to be carried out before the Muslim community entered their fasting month (Ramadhan) in September.

Adhyana, however, said he could not yet say when exactly the execution would take place and where. "To determine these details, we are still waiting for a further directive from the Attorney General`s Office," he said.

Even so, preparations had to be made early on, including coordination with the Bali police and also with the Central Java police who would provide the firing squad, Adhyana said. "When the firing squad had been readied, all that`s left to do is proceed." he added.

Amrozi et al were sentenced to death by a panel of judges at the Denpasar District Court in September 2003. After spending a few months in Bali`s Kerobokan prison in Badnung district, the threesome were moved to a maximum security penitentiary on Nusakambangan island, off Central Java`s southern coast.

After unsuccessfully appealing their death sentence with a higher court, the trio requested a review of their cases by the Supreme Court with the same negative result.

They eventually initiated a second effort for a review by the Supreme Court but last February their lawyers said they had decided to abort the attempt.

Meanwhile, the three death-row convicts had refused to apply for presidential pardon so there was no other alternative left than carrying out their death sentence.

The Bali bombings on October 12, 2002 killed 202 people including foreigners and injured 350 others. (*)

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