Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08JAKARTA1950
2008-10-22 07:34:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Jakarta
Cable title:
BALI BOMBERS -- CONSTITUTIONAL COURT UPHOLDS DEATH
how-toVZCZCXRO1254 OO RUEHCHI RUEHCN RUEHDT RUEHHM DE RUEHJA #1950/01 2960734 ZNY CCCCC ZZH O 220734Z OCT 08 FM AMEMBASSY JAKARTA TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0386 INFO RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS PRIORITY RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA PRIORITY 3187 RUEHLM/AMEMBASSY COLOMBO 1386 RUEHKA/AMEMBASSY DHAKA 1360 RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 2346 RUEHPB/AMEMBASSY PORT MORESBY 4049 RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL 5036 RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 2633 RUEHWL/AMEMBASSY WELLINGTON 3185 RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 5519 RUEHHK/AMCONSUL HONG KONG 3041 RUEHBAD/AMCONSUL PERTH 1215 RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC RHMCSUU/FBI WASHINGTON DC RUEAWJA/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC RHHJJPI/USPACOM HONOLULU HI RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JAKARTA 001950
SIPDIS
DEPT FOR EAP, EAP/MTS, EAP/MLS, S/CT, INL FOR
BARCLAY/ROESS/BUHLER/CARLON
DOJ FOR CRIM AAG SWARTZ, DOJ/OPDAT FOR
LEHMANN/ALEXANDRE/BERMAN
DOJ/CTS FOR MULLANEY, ST HILAIRE
FBI FOR ETTUI/SSA ROTH
NCTC WASHDC
NSC FOR E.PHU
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/22/2018
TAGS: PGOV PTER KJUS ID AS
SUBJECT: BALI BOMBERS -- CONSTITUTIONAL COURT UPHOLDS DEATH
PENALTY
REF: JAKARTA 1920 AND PREVIOUS
JAKARTA 00001950 001.2 OF 002
Classified By: Pol/C Joseph L. Novak, reasons 1.4(b+d).
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JAKARTA 001950
SIPDIS
DEPT FOR EAP, EAP/MTS, EAP/MLS, S/CT, INL FOR
BARCLAY/ROESS/BUHLER/CARLON
DOJ FOR CRIM AAG SWARTZ, DOJ/OPDAT FOR
LEHMANN/ALEXANDRE/BERMAN
DOJ/CTS FOR MULLANEY, ST HILAIRE
FBI FOR ETTUI/SSA ROTH
NCTC WASHDC
NSC FOR E.PHU
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/22/2018
TAGS: PGOV PTER KJUS ID AS
SUBJECT: BALI BOMBERS -- CONSTITUTIONAL COURT UPHOLDS DEATH
PENALTY
REF: JAKARTA 1920 AND PREVIOUS
JAKARTA 00001950 001.2 OF 002
Classified By: Pol/C Joseph L. Novak, reasons 1.4(b+d).
1. (C) SUMMARY: The Constitutional Court has rejected the
Bali bombers' last-ditch appeal of their death sentences and
upheld that death by firing squad is constitutional. The
Indonesian Attorney General has announced that the government
intends to move forward with the executions of the three
bombers, but no date has been made public. GOI contacts hope
that the executions will be carried out soon and do not
anticipate a violent reaction.
2. (C) SUMMARY (Con'd): Separately, the Jakarta police
detained an individual suspected of involvement in sectarian
violence in central and eastern Indonesia several years ago.
His links to other terrorists and terrorist organizations
remain unclear. END SUMMARY.
BAD NEWS FOR BOMBERS
3. (SBU) On October 21, the Constitutional Court rejected
the Bali Bombers' claim that death by firing squad was
unconstitutional. In their petition to the court, the
defense team claimed that execution by firing squad was
painful and constituted torture (and because the Indonesian
Constitution banned torture, this form of execution was
unconstitutional) (see reftels). In its decision, the court
determined that every form of execution causes pain to the
condemned but that, if the execution is carried out properly,
that pain can be minimized. The appeal was lodged after the
convicted terrorists had exhausted all other legal forms of
delay through the court system that reports to the country's
Supreme Court. They received death sentences for their roles
in the October 2002 Bali bombing that killed 202 people.
GOI SAYS IT IS PUSHING AHEAD WITH EXECUTIONS
4. (SBU) Attorney General Hendarman Supanji has announced
that his office is ready to execute the Bali bombers. The
AGO had previously said it would announce the execution date
on October 24. Although the three terrorists could still
request clemency for their crimes, they have publicly stated
that they would not do so.
5. (C) A special execution squad reportedly stands ready to
move into place once the executions are ordered by the
government. The three terrorists, Amrozi (one name only),
Imam Samudra and Ali Gufron are incarcerated on an island
prison located off of Central Java. Some contacts suggest
that the GOI will wait until the conclusion of the Bali Water
Sport Games, an international event that attracts tourists,
before carrying out the executions. The games end on October
26.
GOI CONFIDENT ABOUT POSSIBLE REACTION
6. (C) The GOI does not anticipate a public outcry if the
executions take place. Echoing comments by other GOI
contacts, Ansyaad Mbai, Inspector General of the GOI's
Counter Terrorism Desk, told POLOFF that because of the
increase in executions before Ramadan, the public had become
"desensitized" to the death penalty. He said few Indonesians
sympathized with the three bombers because their acts of
JAKARTA 00001950 002.2 OF 002
violence killed many locals as well as innocent tourists.
ALLEGED MILITANT ARRESTED
7. (C) Separately, Indonesian police raided an alleged
terrorist safe house in Jakarta on October 21. During the
raid, the police arrested an alleged militant, Wahyu aka
"Uci," believed to be a member of Kompak, an Islamic militant
group, who had been wanted by the Central Sulawesi Police.
He is linked to violence in central and eastern Indonesia
several years ago. The police reportedly confiscated 21
bullets, three kilograms of explosives, PVC pipes, and
bomb-making manuals from the North Jakarta house. The police
are still investigating his background and associations.
Earlier press reports had linked the alleged militant (and
another individual) to Noordin M. Top, a well-known Jemmah
Islamiyah leader, but there has been no official confirmation
of that association or of ties to any terrorist organization.
HUME
SIPDIS
DEPT FOR EAP, EAP/MTS, EAP/MLS, S/CT, INL FOR
BARCLAY/ROESS/BUHLER/CARLON
DOJ FOR CRIM AAG SWARTZ, DOJ/OPDAT FOR
LEHMANN/ALEXANDRE/BERMAN
DOJ/CTS FOR MULLANEY, ST HILAIRE
FBI FOR ETTUI/SSA ROTH
NCTC WASHDC
NSC FOR E.PHU
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/22/2018
TAGS: PGOV PTER KJUS ID AS
SUBJECT: BALI BOMBERS -- CONSTITUTIONAL COURT UPHOLDS DEATH
PENALTY
REF: JAKARTA 1920 AND PREVIOUS
JAKARTA 00001950 001.2 OF 002
Classified By: Pol/C Joseph L. Novak, reasons 1.4(b+d).
1. (C) SUMMARY: The Constitutional Court has rejected the
Bali bombers' last-ditch appeal of their death sentences and
upheld that death by firing squad is constitutional. The
Indonesian Attorney General has announced that the government
intends to move forward with the executions of the three
bombers, but no date has been made public. GOI contacts hope
that the executions will be carried out soon and do not
anticipate a violent reaction.
2. (C) SUMMARY (Con'd): Separately, the Jakarta police
detained an individual suspected of involvement in sectarian
violence in central and eastern Indonesia several years ago.
His links to other terrorists and terrorist organizations
remain unclear. END SUMMARY.
BAD NEWS FOR BOMBERS
3. (SBU) On October 21, the Constitutional Court rejected
the Bali Bombers' claim that death by firing squad was
unconstitutional. In their petition to the court, the
defense team claimed that execution by firing squad was
painful and constituted torture (and because the Indonesian
Constitution banned torture, this form of execution was
unconstitutional) (see reftels). In its decision, the court
determined that every form of execution causes pain to the
condemned but that, if the execution is carried out properly,
that pain can be minimized. The appeal was lodged after the
convicted terrorists had exhausted all other legal forms of
delay through the court system that reports to the country's
Supreme Court. They received death sentences for their roles
in the October 2002 Bali bombing that killed 202 people.
GOI SAYS IT IS PUSHING AHEAD WITH EXECUTIONS
4. (SBU) Attorney General Hendarman Supanji has announced
that his office is ready to execute the Bali bombers. The
AGO had previously said it would announce the execution date
on October 24. Although the three terrorists could still
request clemency for their crimes, they have publicly stated
that they would not do so.
5. (C) A special execution squad reportedly stands ready to
move into place once the executions are ordered by the
government. The three terrorists, Amrozi (one name only),
Imam Samudra and Ali Gufron are incarcerated on an island
prison located off of Central Java. Some contacts suggest
that the GOI will wait until the conclusion of the Bali Water
Sport Games, an international event that attracts tourists,
before carrying out the executions. The games end on October
26.
GOI CONFIDENT ABOUT POSSIBLE REACTION
6. (C) The GOI does not anticipate a public outcry if the
executions take place. Echoing comments by other GOI
contacts, Ansyaad Mbai, Inspector General of the GOI's
Counter Terrorism Desk, told POLOFF that because of the
increase in executions before Ramadan, the public had become
"desensitized" to the death penalty. He said few Indonesians
sympathized with the three bombers because their acts of
JAKARTA 00001950 002.2 OF 002
violence killed many locals as well as innocent tourists.
ALLEGED MILITANT ARRESTED
7. (C) Separately, Indonesian police raided an alleged
terrorist safe house in Jakarta on October 21. During the
raid, the police arrested an alleged militant, Wahyu aka
"Uci," believed to be a member of Kompak, an Islamic militant
group, who had been wanted by the Central Sulawesi Police.
He is linked to violence in central and eastern Indonesia
several years ago. The police reportedly confiscated 21
bullets, three kilograms of explosives, PVC pipes, and
bomb-making manuals from the North Jakarta house. The police
are still investigating his background and associations.
Earlier press reports had linked the alleged militant (and
another individual) to Noordin M. Top, a well-known Jemmah
Islamiyah leader, but there has been no official confirmation
of that association or of ties to any terrorist organization.
HUME