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| Southeast Asia |
| Amrozi sentenced to death |
| 2004-07-23 |
| An Indonesian anti-terror law used to convict the Bali bombers violated the constitution, a top court in Jakarta has ruled. The decision could open the door for fresh appeals from extremists following an appeal by Maysur Abdul Kadir, who was jailed for 15 years for helping the bombers. Kadir claimed a subsidary law which made the anti-terror law retroactive - to cover the Bali attack - was unlawful. The constitutional court judges, by a five to four majority, agreed. Now lawyer Wirawan Adnan, who bought the test case, said it provides those found guilty of terror attacks with new grounds for an appeal. "We will also file appeals to all cases which have been decided in the district courts, by using the same argument," vowed Mr Adnan. But a court official said the ruling does not overturn the convictions of al Qaeda-linked terrorists behind the nightclub bombing in October 2002, which killed 202 people. Within a week of the atrocity, the Indonesian Government issued an anti-terror decree, authoristing death for terrorism and the detention of suspects for upto six months without trial. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |