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| Southeast Asia |
| Bali bombers moved to island 'Alcatraz' |
| 2005-10-11 |
| INDONESIA has moved the three ringleaders of the 2002 Bali bombings on death-row because of security concerns at their prison in Denpasar. The men were transferred in three armoured cars and guarded by about 30 heavily armed police. Their move to a higher security jail came on the eve of the third anniversary of the October 12, 2002 bombings in which 202 people died, including 88 Australians. So-called smiling assassin Amrozi bin Nurhasyin, Imam Samudra and Mukhlas – all awaiting execution – were moved this afternoon from Bali's Kerobokan Prison to Batu Prison on Nusakambangan, an island off the south Java coast, Bali justice ministry spokesman IG Rata said. The high-security jail is home to former Indonesian dictator Suharto's son, Tommy, who is serving a 15-year sentence for masterminding the murder of a supreme court judge. "They were moved for security reasons," Mr Rata said. He said the transfer order had come directly from Indonesian Justice Minister Hamid Awaluddin in Jakarta. He said the letter arrived yesterday but the transfer had been planned for more than two months. "The soil at Kerobokan and the walls are too fragile and the prison is too full," he said. "There is only capacity for 338 prisoners there but there are now more than 800 in there." Batu Prison, about 250km south-east of Jakarta, is known as Indonesia's "Alcatraz". The jail is home to the country's most dangerous criminals. The overcrowded Kerobokan Prison is where Australian convicted drug smuggler Schapelle Corby is serving her 20-year jail term. It also houses the so-called Bali Nine, whose trials for alleged drug trafficking began today in Denpasar. Indonesian police have questioned the three death-row bombers over the recent triple suicide blasts in Kuta and Jimbaran, which killed 20 people including four Australians. Yesterday more than 100 Balinese had staged an angry protest demanding the immediate execution of Amrozi and two other attack ringleaders who are on death row. Protesters were expected to rally outside Kerobokan prison tomorrow to demand the immediate execution of the trio. |
| Posted by:Oztralian [AKA] God Save The World |