ShackO
08-17-2006, 09:27 PM
At least 12 militants jailed in Indonesia over the 2002 Bali bombings have had their sentences reduced to mark independence day. (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4801063.stm)
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/39373000/jpg/_39373016_bombsiteap203.jpg
The reductions, of up to four months, were in sentences ranging from five to 16 years.
The move sparked anger in Australia, where 88 of the 202 victims of the nightclub bombings came from.
The reduction also benefited Australian drug-smuggler Schapelle Corby, who got a two-month cut in her 20-year term.
Another Australian drug-smuggler, Renee Lawrence is also likely to have a small sentence reduction.
'Good behaviour'
The reductions in sentences for the 12 Bali bombers mean that one man, Puryanto, has now been released.
"They are entitled to remissions because they have behaved well," Bali's Kerobokan prison chief Ilham Djaya told Reuters news agency.
More than 30 people have been jailed for the 2002 Bali blasts, which have been blamed on the South-East Asian militant group Jemaah Islamiah.
Those benefiting from Thursday's sentence reductions are thought to have played relatively minor roles in the bombings - such as sheltering the main suspects or helping to finance the attacks.
Several people convicted of playing a more serious role in the attacks are serving life sentences, while three militants - Amrozi, Ali Gufron and Imam Samudra - are due to face the death penalty later this month.
'Painful'
There was anger in Australia at the announcement.
David Stewart, whose son Anthony died in the bombing, spoke out at the reductions. "I want people to know that this is ridiculous, these short sentences," he said.
A spokesman for Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said many people would find the news upsetting.
"It is difficult for most Australians to comprehend that such prisoners have received reduced sentences," he said. "This is particularly painful for victims and their families."
But granting remissions was a long-standing practice in Indonesia, he said.
Under the Indonesian system, all prisoners are eligible for remission on independence day, so long as they have served at least six months of a sentence and they are not sentenced to either life in prison or death.
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/39373000/jpg/_39373016_bombsiteap203.jpg
The reductions, of up to four months, were in sentences ranging from five to 16 years.
The move sparked anger in Australia, where 88 of the 202 victims of the nightclub bombings came from.
The reduction also benefited Australian drug-smuggler Schapelle Corby, who got a two-month cut in her 20-year term.
Another Australian drug-smuggler, Renee Lawrence is also likely to have a small sentence reduction.
'Good behaviour'
The reductions in sentences for the 12 Bali bombers mean that one man, Puryanto, has now been released.
"They are entitled to remissions because they have behaved well," Bali's Kerobokan prison chief Ilham Djaya told Reuters news agency.
More than 30 people have been jailed for the 2002 Bali blasts, which have been blamed on the South-East Asian militant group Jemaah Islamiah.
Those benefiting from Thursday's sentence reductions are thought to have played relatively minor roles in the bombings - such as sheltering the main suspects or helping to finance the attacks.
Several people convicted of playing a more serious role in the attacks are serving life sentences, while three militants - Amrozi, Ali Gufron and Imam Samudra - are due to face the death penalty later this month.
'Painful'
There was anger in Australia at the announcement.
David Stewart, whose son Anthony died in the bombing, spoke out at the reductions. "I want people to know that this is ridiculous, these short sentences," he said.
A spokesman for Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said many people would find the news upsetting.
"It is difficult for most Australians to comprehend that such prisoners have received reduced sentences," he said. "This is particularly painful for victims and their families."
But granting remissions was a long-standing practice in Indonesia, he said.
Under the Indonesian system, all prisoners are eligible for remission on independence day, so long as they have served at least six months of a sentence and they are not sentenced to either life in prison or death.