Slava Novorossiya

Slava Novorossiya

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

IMAM SAMUDRA THE BALI BOMBER (14 JANUARY 1970 TO 9 NOVEMBER 2008)



Coming this Friday 9 November 2012, it will be the fourth anniversary of the execution of the Bali Bombers in Indonesia. I planned to blog more about Amrozi on how he made me switched from being a strong opponent to supporter of capital punishment and I will do it on the same day, he was executed. But before that, I will give some information about the other two Bali Bombers, but in this post, I blog about Imam Samudra first, I got the information about him from Wikipedia and several news sources. 



Imam Samudra (also known as Abdul Aziz, Qudama/Kudama, Fatih/Fat, Abu Umar or Heri) (14 January 1970 in Serang, Banten (then part of West Java province) – 9 November 2008 in Nusakambangan, Central Java) was  an Indonesian convicted for the 2002 Bali bombing and was executed on 9 November 2008.

On 7 August 2003, he was found guilty for his role in the Bali bombing and sentenced to death by firing squad. Originally incarcerated in Denpasar's prison, he was moved to the high-security prison island of Nusakambangan.


Imam Samudra faces judges in an Indonesian court.
Together with the two other bombers who received death sentences, he launched a constitutional challenge against the use of firing squads. Samudra and the two other bombers preferred beheading, saying that it was a more Islamic form of execution. In October 2008 he remained unrepentant and claimed revenge would be taken for his death.

During the month, his final appeals were rejected and the Attorney General's office announced that he would be executed by firing squad in early November 2008. According to a source in Indonesia's Attorney General Office, the execution was to be done before the end of Sunday, 9 November 2008. This was reportedly delayed from the original plan to allow a representative from the family to identify the body post-execution. However, no representative from Samudra's family were in attendance.

Samudra, along with Amrozi bin Nurhasyim and Ali Ghufron were shot at 00:15 local time on 9 November 2008. They were executed by firing squad.

From his cell, he wrote an auto-biography in Indonesian titled I Fight Terrorists (Aku Melawan Teroris in original), where the "terrorists" are the Americans. It went on sale for $3, on a run of 5000 copies. In 2004, CNN described the book as a "bestseller in Indonesia".


The trial of Iman Samudra [2003]:


Judge grills 'avenger' Samudra
July 17 2003
By Wayne Miller
Denpasar, Bali


Picture: SIMON O'DWYER
Accused Bali bombing mastermind Imam Samudra stands below chief judge Wayan Sugawa, who holds a pistol used as evidence.

The five judges trying Imam Samudra for mass murder grilled him for almost three hours yesterday, as he talked openly about his responsibilities as a true Muslim to wage jihad or holy war against "the infidels of the West".

The alleged field commander of the Bali bombings, who uses his own interpretations of the Koran to justify his militant stance, spent over half an hour trying to justify his actions to a judge, a fellow Muslim.

Citing the Koran, Judge Arif Supratman said: "Allah has never told you to kill."

"That's your interpretation," Samudra said defiantly. "Yes, Allah has, in 80 verses. You can kill humans," he said.

"Don't you think that the bules (Westerners) in Legian are not responsible for killing in Afghanistan?" Judge Supratman said. 


"If we don't take revenge against those who slaughter Palestinians, it is wrong," Samudra said. "If they kill civilians like they did in Iraq, it is necessary to also kill civilians," Samudra said.

Samudra sat in a small swivel chair for almost three hours as he was questioned over his past, his beliefs and why he chose Bali as a target for terrorist bombings in October 12 last year, which killed 202 people and injured more than 160. 

He confessed he had fought Russian troops in Afghanistan in the 1990s alongside Osama bin Laden.'

Despite telling the court that he was morally responsible for the Bali bombings, Samudra told the judges he did not take part in the bombings.

He had constructed a website claiming responsibility for the attack but he had never posted it on the internet. "It was only a joke and I made it one month after the incident," Samudra told the court. 

And although he took part in a reconstruction of his actions with police shortly after his arrest late last year, Samudra denied it was his signature alongside that of his lawyer, on the reconstruction forms,

Chief judge Wayan Sugawa asked Samudra how he would feel, as an Indonesian family man, if his wife and children had been victims of the Bali bombings.

"I personally, as a human, feel sad," Samudra said. "Even if a cat died, I would feel like I have sinned."

"Why didn't you try to stop it in Indonesia? Why didn't you do it in another country, so Indonesians would not be victims?" the judge asked.

"Apart from being an Indonesian citizen, morally I am a Muslim and I feel that Muslim is everything, and everything above everything," Samudra said.

"Do you feel regret?" the judge asked.

"It cannot be said like that. That's black and white. I have the right to talk as a Muslim, who has faith in Islamic beliefs. Clearly, when the Americans try to take over, as Muslims we have an obligation to defend Muslims wherever they are. This is based on my beliefs and the Muslim leaders that are out there," Samudra said.

"Why not go to America?"

"Allah stated 'attack the infidels, wherever they are'. So the Koran has no boundaries on the location but on the orientation; that is what is clear," Samudra said.

Samudra's trial is in its final stages. On July 28 the prosecution will summarise its case, followed shortly afterwards by the defence summation.


Imam Samudra deserves to die, court told


Updated Tue Jul 29, 2003 12:14am AEST



Police restrain Samudra in Denpasar court


Indonesian prosecutors have asked the judges hearing the Bali bombing trial of key defendant, Imam Samudra, to sentence him to the firing squad.

"Brutal" was how prosecutors described Imam Samudra, a man they today told the court was the field commander for the Bali operation, picking Bali as the target, raising the finances and recruiting other members of the plot.

After reading from more than 300 pages of charges compiled during the trial, the prosecutor said Imam Samudra deserved to die for an act that caused massive casualties and terrified an entire population.

As Imam Samudra left the court Australian man, Jan Laczynski waved an Australian flag and called on the suspect to apologise.

Security guards told journalists that Imam Samudra responded "Australians are the terrorists".
Imam Samudra will have the opportunity to present his defence in two weeks time.


Samudra screams defiance at death
By Wayne Miller
Denpasar
September 11, 2003


Picture: AFP
Imam Samudra gestures defiantly as he is led from a Denpasar court yesterday after being sentenced to death by firing squad over his role as the Bali bombings commander.
Imam Samudra, the Islamic militant who masterminded the Bali bombings, yesterday became the second man condemned to die by firing squad for his part in the deadly October 12 attack.
Samudra defiantly punched the air with his right arm and shouted "Allahu Akbar" (God is great) three times as the death penalty was announced. 

A panel of five judges convicted Samudra of planning, carrying out and financing the bombings in Legian Road that killed 202 people, including 88 Australians.

Although Samudra has said he wants to die as a martyr, his lawyers said they will appeal against the verdict. 

Lawyer Qadar Faisal said Samudra's confession had been forcibly obtained. 

"There was no justice in this case. He should not have got the death sentence," he said. 

Samudra was also convicted over a church bombing on Batam Island, near Singapore, and over an armed robbery that raised money for the Bali attack. "Imam Samudra has been clearly proven to have planned a terrorist act, and we hand down the sentence of death," Judge Wayan Sugawa told the court in Denpasar. 

The judges said Samudra, 33, was guilty of an "extraordinary" crime against humanity and had shown no remorse.

As he was led from the courtroom, Samudra was confronted by a Melbourne man, Jan Laczynski, carrying an Australian flag bearing photographs of victims. Mr Laczynski, who lost five friends in the attack, approached Samudra and yelled: "We're proud to be Australians. Take a look at all the people you killed."

Samudra screamed back: "Calm down, infidel" and "Go to hell... do you think I'm afraid?".

Mr Laczynski, 35, of Essendon, came to Bali specifically to confront Samudra. He said later he was shaken by the encounter, but glad he had done it. "I really feel happy that justice has been done. Families back home can take some comfort."

Samudra is the second of the Bali bombers to be condemned to die, following the conviction and sentencing of Amrozi.

Samudra sat slouched in his chair and stroked his wispy beard as the judges read out their findings. When one judge made a Christian reference to the Government being "the slave of God" in dealing with criminals, Samudra sat defiantly with his fingers in his ears.

During his trial, Samudra denied having played a leading role in the bombings. Yesterday the judges emphatically dismissed his submission, and accepted evidence presented by prosecutors that Samudra commanded the group that carried out the attacks, selecting recruits and assigning tasks in a series of meetings leading up to October 12.

"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 mastermind behind the Bali bomb explosions," Judge Ifa Sudewi said. "The element of planning has been legally and convincingly proven.

"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.

Muslim judge Arif Supratman read a passage from the Koran. "We already decided for them that, many souls were paid for by souls, eyes paid by eyes, nose by nose, eyes by eyes, tooth by tooth and injured paid by injured." Because of that, he said, Samudra would pay with his life.
Samudra is said to have been a leading member of the al-Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiah terror network. 

While not admitting to JI links during his trial, he has painted himself as a holy war warrior.
Judge Sudewi said yesterday Samudra had described the Bali blasts as "revenge... against the tyranny of America". She said that during this three years of training as a fighter in Afghanistan, Samudra had met Osama bin Laden.

Outside court, a lawyer for Samudra indicated he would appeal, saying his confession was forcibly obtained. "There was no justice in this case," said Qadar Faisal.

Samudra's sister, Nunung, told a radio station in Java that she was praying for a miracle to save her brother. She said her family rejected the court ruling because it was "engineered by humans and it was not a punishment from God".

Australian Ross McKeon, who lost his wife Lynette, 46, daughter Marissa, 14, and seven friends in the bombings, expressed relief after travelling to Denpasar to watch the trial of Samudra. "He orchestrated, he organised a lot of things, he manipulated people to carry out the bombing, and I hold him seriously responsible for it," Mr McKeon said.

In Melbourne, Lynley Huguenin, who was in Paddy's Bar when the first bomb exploded and suffered burns to 30 per cent of her body, was happy with the penalty. "His death sentence means more to me than Amrozi's. He's the evil mastermind," she said.

Survivor Dale Atkin, of Hallam, said he thought justice had been done. "He got what he deserved for killing 202 people."

David "Spike" Stewart, of Werribee, father of victim Anthony Stewart, expressed relief. "I just think if he didn't get death, he could escape from jail one day and do it again."

Gold Coast university student Jake Ryan, who was injured in the bombings, said: "I'm pretty happy as long as he was found guilty... I have no qualms if they shoot him or if they locked him up for life in some rathole.

Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said the outcome showed the Indonesian Government was determined to pursue terrorists and terrorism. He said the Australian Government did not support the death sentence. "But in these particular circumstances we won't be making any representations against the sentence," he said.

- with Sasha Shtargot, agencies

Judge quotes Koran as Bali mastermind screams defiance

By Wayne Miller Denpasar, Bali
September 11, 2003


"Go to hell" . . . Bali bomber Samudra is led into court yesterday to hear his death sentence. Photo: Tamara Dean
Defiant to the end, Imam Samudra sat with his fingers in his ears as the five judges sentencing him to death chastised him and read messages of peace and love. 

"Go to hell," screamed the mastermind of the Bali bombings. "Do you think I'm afraid?" he cried after yesterday's sentence as he was confronted by a Melbourne man, Jan Laczynski.

As Samudra was led from court, Mr Laczynski - who lost five friends in the Sari Club blast - held up an Australian flag carrying the faces of the 88 Australians killed in the October 12 bombings.
Moments earlier, as Chief Judge I Wayan Sugawa said "hukuman mati" - death penalty - Samudra punched the air and shouted "God is great" three times. 

He is the second of the Bali bombers to be sent to the firing squad. The judges found he was the field commander of the attacks which killed 202 people and injured 325. 

Samudra will be executed for his involvement in both the Bali bombings and a church bombing on Batam Island on Christmas Eve 2000. He was also convicted over an armed robbery to raise funds for the Bali operation. 

Mr Laczynski, 35, of Essendon, confronted the terrorist as he was led away, flourishing his flag and saying, "I'm proud to be Australian."

Samudra, wide-eyed, looked at the flag and then yelled at the top of his voice "Calm down infidel" in Indonesian before shouting that he was not afraid to die. 

"He wasn't too happy," Mr Laczynski said.

Also in court was a Central Coast man, Ross McKeon, whose wife, Lynette, 14-year-old daughter, Marissa, and seven friends died. "He orchestrated, he organised a lot of things, he manipulated people to carry out the bombing, and I hold him seriously responsible for it."

The judges took nearly five hours to read the 333-page verdict, chastising Samudra repeatedly.

Samudra had claimed not to have been involved in any meetings to plan the Bali bombings and said he had no knowledge of the robbery or church attack, but the judges told him his guilt was "proved legally and confidently by the law".

The Muslim judge, Arif Supratman, read a passage from the Koran: "We already decided for them that, many souls were paid for by souls, eyes paid by eyes, nose by nose, eyes by eyes, tooth by tooth and injured paid by injured." Because of that, he said, Samudra would pay with his life.

Samudra, whose real name is Abdul Aziz, has shown no remorse and only contempt for the non-Muslims killed or injured in Bali. He sees himself as a warrior in a holy war between Christians and Muslims. He believes he is justified in killing in retribution for the Muslims who are "slaughtered" by the United States and its allies, including Australia. 

But one judge said: "Many still understand 'jihad' based on their own taste and desires. In fact, 'jihad' means proselytising. The jihad done by the accused was merely because of feelings of hatred to the US and its allies." 

The judges spoke of the tears of witnesses. There was Haji Bambang, who tried to help victims at the Sari Club but instead had 25 people die in his arms. They referred to the economic devastation of the attack.

And they spoke of the inhumane actions of this unrepentant, surly egotist who last month rejoiced at the Marriott Hotel blast in Jakarta - because Americans died. He said nothing of the Indonesian victims.

Judge Ifa Sudewi said the crime towards one soul was a "crime against humanity".

When Judge Supratman read a quotation from the Catholic Church, Samudra blocked his ears.
The Foreign Minister, Alexander Downer, said the conviction and sentence demonstrated the determination of the Indonesian Government to pursue terrorists "and we welcome that".

"It's not, of course, the policy of the Australian Government to support the death penalty, but in these particular circumstances we won't be making any representations against the sentence to the Indonesian Government."

Samudra has seven days to lodge an appeal. His lawyers say he has told them to appeal because he should have been tried under Islamic law. 

In west Java, Samudra's sister, Nunung, said she hoped for a miracle and that he would be freed. If not, she hoped he would "die for a holy cause as a mujaheed [jihad warrior] . . . perhaps it is the best thing for my brother."


Quotes by Iman Samudra:
Please see this whole video to hear the interviews from the Bali Bombers:



Please see this video from 2 minutes 25 seconds to 5 minutes 42 seconds, to hear from Iman Samudra:

Please see this video from 44 seconds to 57 seconds, to hear from one of Iman Samudra’s last words:



Should Imam Samudra be allowed to live? Ask yourself these 4 questions:

1. Can you truly rehabilitate a terrorist?

2. Does life without parole really mean what it is? Why is Umar Patek only given 20 years and can be granted parole after 15 years? What if Samudra was only sentenced to life imprisonment?

3. Some of those Bali Bombers have either been executed or killed by military action. What use is it to keep some of them alive?

4. If terrorist do not fear the death penalty, why did Samudra joined the other 2 Bali Bombers in appealing against their death sentence?

I feel that it is an act of justice that Imam Samudra paid with his life, I do not want him to be given a chance not only to re offend again but also to write another book to influence others to become terrorists like him.
 
 

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