Recent Appearances...

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Hello !
Recent Appearances...

Umar Patek	Umar Patek	Jemaah Islamiah	Southeast Asia				20050815
	Umar Patek	Jemaah Islamiyah	Southeast Asia				20050610

Southeast Asia

Bali bombmaker paroled; suicide bomber kills 1 in attack on police station

2022-12-08

[BenarNews] Indonesia on Wednesday released the Bali attacks bombmaker from prison at least seven years before he served out his full 20-year sentence. A justice ministry official confirmed that Umar Patek, who assembled the bombs used in the 2002 Bali Bombings — Indonesia’s worst ever terror attack — was freed on parole in the morning.

On the same day, a former terrorism convict apparently unhappy with Indonesia’s new criminal code went kaboom! at a cop shoppe in Bandung, killing an officer and wounding 10 other people, officials said.

The bomber had been released from prison last March after serving four years for a failed suicide kaboom in 2017 that was blamed on Jamaah Ansharut Daulah

...founded by our old friend Abu Bakar Bashir of Al Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiyah fame, JAD translates cleverly as Partisans of the Islamic State, but really only means (Wink! Wink!) ISIS in Indonesia...
(JAD), an Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems....
-linked bully boy group, police said.

Umar had been associated with another bully boy group, Jemaah Islamiyah, the Southeast Asian affiliate of the al-Qaeda international terror network.

"Hisyam bin Alizein, alias Umar Patek, was released from the Surabaya Penitentiary under the parole program," said Rika Aprianti, spokesperson for the directorate general of corrections at the Law and Human Rights Ministry.

Rika said Umar had fulfilled conditions for parole, including having served two-thirds of his sentence and taking part in deradicalization programs as well as pledging allegiance to the state.

"The granting of parole was also recommended by the National Counter-Terrorism Agency (BNPT) and the Special Detachment 88 (Densus 88)," Rika said in a statement, referring to the police’s elite anti-terrorism unit.

Umar has to now mandatorily join a "mentoring program" until April 2030, and his parole would be revoked if he violates it in any way, the statement said.

Umar was arrested in Pakistain in 2011 and tried in Indonesia. In 2012, instead of receiving the death penalty

, he was sentenced to 20 years in prison. Like other prisoners in Indonesia, Umar, too, had received a series of sentence cuts for good behavior to mark Indonesian holidays.

In August, Umar said in an interview with the prison chief that it was a "mistake" to be involved in the Oct. 12, 2002 twin bombings in Bali that killed 202 people, including 88 Australians. Indonesian authorities blamed the attack on Jemaah Islamiyah.

In 2008, Indonesian authorities executed Imam Samudra, Amrozi and Mukhlas for their roles in the bombings.

Counterterrorism officials have touted Umar as a deradicalization success story, but the news in August that he would be paroled outraged people and officials in Australia.

BOMBING KILLS POLICE OFFICER
Meanwhile,
...back at the revival hall, the SWAT team had finally arrived...
several people on social media expressed their unhappiness about Umar’s early release.

"His release today at the same time as #BomBunuhDiri #Bandung [the suicide kaboom in Bandung] actually gives a negative signal to the public and will cheer up terrorist groups," @HastoSuprayogo said on Twitter.

Police said the jacket wallah forced his way into the Astana Anyar cop shoppe in Bandung, the capital of West Java province, and set off the bomb while officers were conducting a morning roll-call.

"He was stopped by several officers, but he brandished a knife and suddenly there was a kaboom," said provincial police chief Inspector General Suntana, who uses one name.

Fingerprint and facial recognition results confirmed that the perpetrator was Agus Sujatno, national police chief General Listyo Sigit Prabowo told news hounds. The 34-year-old bomber had not been successfully deradicalized, Listyo said.

Photos circulating online showed the bomber’s body parts strewn on the ground. An officer identified as Sofyan died in a hospital of his injuries.

Police seized a cycle of violence they said belonged to the bomber. The vehicle had an Islamic State logo and a piece of paper taped to the front of the vehicle that read "The Criminal Code, the law of polytheists/infidels. Wage war against Satanic law enforcers."

The attack came a day after the Indonesian parliament passed a broad new criminal code that, critics fear, would threaten civil liberties. Listyo said police also found pieces of paper at the scene scribbled with criticisms of the criminal code.

The national police have ordered stations across the country to tighten security and increase vigilance, front man Brigadier Gen. Ahmad Ramadhan said.

’WE CAN’T READ THEIR MINDS’
Nasir Abbas, a former bully boy who has worked with counter-terrorism police, said the attack was a sign that that JAD could still carry out attacks.

"This shows that the movement (JAD) still exists and is capable of getting people to carry out suicide kabooms. That’s the message," Nasir told BenarNews.

Nasir said the bomber’s supposed objection to the new criminal code was not surprising because JAD Death Eaters had always rejected Indonesian secular laws in favor of sharia.

Imron Rasyid, a security analyst at the Habibie Center think-tank, said the attack was timed with the controversy over the criminal code.

"They are taking advantage of the moment [to increase the impact of their action]," Imron told BenarNews.

Imron warned that JAD remained a major threat because the group had been recruiting while authorities were preoccupied with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Boy Rafli Amar, the head of the National Counter-terrorism Agency (BNPT), rejected suggestions that security authorities were caught off guard.

"Terrorists always look for opportunities to strike. We can’t read their minds," Boy said.

Indonesian authorities have blamed JAD for a series of attacks in Indonesia over the past six years.

These include gun and kabooms near a shopping center and a coffee shop in Central Jakarta in 2016, the first terror strike claimed by the Islamic State in Southeast Asia. The attack killed eight people including four bully boys.

JAD was also involved in suicide kabooms in 2018 in Surabaya, Indonesia’s second largest city, authorities said. Twenty-seven people died, including 13 suspects.

Link

Southeast Asia

Ahead of 20th anniversary, Bali bombing survivors remember life-changing event

2022-10-11

[BenarNews] Twenty years after the Bali bombings, some survivors have come to terms with their injuries and loss of loved ones, and some have forgiven the militants who carried out the attacks that killed 202 people.

But news that Umar Patek, the convict who helped assemble the bombs used in Indonesia’s worst terror attack, may be released on good behavior has angered many.

Ni Luh Erniati, who lost her husband, Gede Badrawan, in the bombings, said she met Umar in the Porong penitentiary in neighboring East Java province on Sept. 23 as part of a government deradicalization program.

Link

Southeast Asia

Bali bomb maker claims involvement in 2002 attack a ‘mistake’

2022-08-30

[BenarNews] The convict who helped assemble the bombs used in the 2002 Bali bombings is claiming it was a "mistake" to be involved in Indonesia’s worst terror attack that killed 202 people, including 88 Australians.

Indonesian bomb maker Umar Patek, who has completed at least half of a 20-year prison sentence and may be up for parole this month, made the remark in an interview with a prison official that was uploaded on YouTube on Saturday before being removed on Monday.

Counterterrorism officials have touted Umar as a deradicalization success story, but news of his impending release has outraged people and officials in neighboring Australia.

In an interview from inside the Porong Prison in Sidoarjo regency, East Java, Umar said that after his potential release, he hoped to educate Indonesian youths about the danger of religious extremism.

"My mistake was to be involved with the Bali bombing," Umar said in the video, about the Oct. 12, 2002 terror attack.
"It was like a prank, you know?"
Rika Aprianti, a spokeswoman for the Directorate General of Corrections at the Ministry of Law and Human Rights, declined to comment on the video while confirming Umar had regretted his actions.

"One of the assessments is that the inmates, while serving their sentence, know that they have made a mistake and regret it," Rika told BenarNews on Monday.

Umar could be released this month after he received a five-month sentence reduction on Aug. 17, Indonesia’s 77th Independence Day. Rika declined to provide exact information on when Umar may be freed.

"The parole program is still in process," she said.

If parole is not granted, Umar could remain enjugged
Book 'im, Mahmoud!
until 2029, according to media reports.

Umar, whose real name is Hisyam bin Ali Zein, was arrested in Pakistain in 2011 and tried in Indonesia. In 2012, he was sentenced to 20 years in prison instead of receiving the death penalty

.

Umar’s Filipina wife was granted Indonesian citizenship in 2019, with authorities at the time saying the move was a reward for his good behavior behind bars.

"He is an example to fellow inmates both in terrorism and other cases, and also appeals to those outside to return to the right path," Suhardi Alius, who was leader of the National Counterterrorism Agency, told BenarNews back then.

Link

Southeast Asia

Anger in Australia as Sentence Cut Means Jihadist Bali Bomber Could Be Free in Days

2022-08-22

[Breitbart] Australia’s leader said Friday that it’s upsetting Indonesia has further reduced the prison sentence of the bombmaker in the Bali terror attack that killed 202 people — which could free him within days if he’s granted parole.

The most recent reduction of Umar Patek’s sentence takes his total reductions to almost two years and means Patek could be released on parole ahead of the 20th anniversary of the bombings in October.

"This will cause further distress to Australians who were the families of victims of the Bali bombings," Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told Channel 9. "We lost 88 Australian lives in those bombings."

Indonesia often grants sentence reductions to prisoners on major holidays such as the nation’s Independence Day, which was Wednesday.

Patek received a 5-month reduction on Independence Day for good behavior and could walk free this month from Porong Prison in East Java province if he gets parole, said Zaeroji, who heads the provincial office for the Ministry of Law and Human Rights.

Zaeroji, who goes by a single name, said Patek had the same rights as other inmates and had fulfilled legal requirements to get sentence reductions. "While in the prison, he behaved very well and he regrets his radical past which has harmed society and the country and he has also vowed to be a good citizen," Zaeroji said.

Patek was arrested in Pakistain in 2011 and tried in Indonesia, where he was convicted in 2012. He was originally sentenced to 20 years imprisonment.

With his time served plus sentence reductions, he became eligible for parole on Aug. 14. The decision from the Ministry of Law and Human Rights in Jakarta is still pending, Zaeroji said. If refused parole, he could remain locked away
You have the right to remain silent...
until 2029.

Patek was one of several men implicated in the attack, which was widely blamed on Jemaah Islamiyah, a Southeast Asian krazed killer group with ties to al-Qaeda. Most of those killed in the bombing on the resort island were foreign tourists.

Another conspirator, Ali Imron, was sentenced to life. Earlier this year, a third krazed killer, Aris Sumarsono, whose real name is Arif Sunarso but is better known as Zulkarnaen, was sentenced to 15 years following his capture in 2020 after 18 years on the run.

Bali bomber Umar Patek's release is being discussed. Here's what you need to know about that and his role in the attack

[MSN] Umar Patek — who was jailed for 20 years over his role in the 2002 Bali bombings — has been given a further five-month reduction to his sentence as part of Indonesia's Independence Day celebrations.

He was one of 16,659 prisoners in East Java who received a reduction in their prison terms.

Here's what we know.

Patek was accused of being the expert bombmaker for Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), a South-East Asian terror network linked to Al Qaeda.

Evidence in his 2012 trial suggested former Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden gave JI $30,000 to wage jihad and Patek might have met him in a Pakistani town, a claim Patek repeatedly denied.

He went into hiding after the bombings, being on the most-wanted terrorist list in several countries, with the US offering a $1 million bounty for his head.

Patek was eventually captured in Abbottabad, Pakistan, in 2011 and extradited to Indonesia.

On top of his conviction over the Bali bombings, he was also found guilty of weapons and conspiracy charges over a terrorist training camp in Aceh in 2009, and for mixing explosives for a series of Christmas Eve attacks on churches in 2000.

WHY WAS HIS SENTENCE REDUCED?
Indonesian authorities say he's been deradicalised. Patek reportedly told Indonesian newspaper JawaPos he was committed to assisting the Indonesian government in deradicalisation programs.

"Because, so far, I think radicalism still exists," he said.

"It can exist anywhere, in any region or country. Because the roots are still there."

He said he had been active for the past eight years in deradicalisation programs organised by prisons, Indonesia's National Counter Terrorism Agency and other institutions.

In 2015, Major General Agus Surya Bakti — who led the Indonesia's deradicalisation efforts through its anti-terrorism agency — spoke of Patek's success in the program.

"It's an extraordinary thing," he said.

Zaeroji — the head of Ministry of Law and Human Rights' provincial office — said the deradicalisation program at the Surabaya prison where Patek was serving his sentence was considered successful.

"Now there are seven terrorism convicts in the Surabaya prison, and all of them have declared their loyalty to the Republic of Indonesia," said Zaeroji, who goes by a single name.

WHAT WAS PATEK'S ROLE IN THE BOMBING?
Bombs went off at the Sari Club and Paddy's Bar in Kuta about 11pm on October 12, 2002.

Patek made some of the bombs used in the attack, with local media calling him "Demolition Man" during his trial. He admitted mixing as much as 50 kilograms of the explosives and packing them into filing cabinets used to carry the bomb to the Sari Club.

During his trial, Patek downplayed his role in the terror plot and argued that he didn't know how the bombs would be used.

WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT HIS SENTENCE?
Patek was convicted for premeditated murder. He was spared the death penalty because he cooperated with investigators and and apologised to the victims' families, eventually being sentenced to 20 years in prison.

The ABC understands he has been granted routine remissions in his sentence, which has brought his release date forward to 2029. Typically, with incremental reductions and good behaviour, prisoners can get parole after serving about two thirds of their sentence. He was due to become eligible for parole in January.

WHEN MIGHT HE WALK FREE?
There are reports he could be freed within days — but that's only if he is granted parole.

The ABC has been told that terrorists aren't usually eligible for parole.

And Indonesian authorities say no decision has been made on whether he will be released.

If he's not granted parole, he'll be in prison until 2029.

WHAT ABOUT OTHER PEOPLE INVOLVED IN THE ATTACK?
In 2008, Imam Samudra, Amrozi, and Mukhlas were executed for their roles in the attack.

Abu Bakar Bashir — who was found guilty of conspiracy over the Bali bombings — was released from prison after 26 months in 2006 after his sentence was shortened.

He was given a 15-year jail sentence in 2011 for supporting militant training camps, but was released last year.

As former military commander of JI, Aris Sumarsono — better known as Zulkarnaen — was accused of masterminding the attacks. In January, he was sentenced to 15 years in prison on a string to terror charges, but was unable to be tried in relation to the Bali bombings because the statue of limitations had expired.

Link

Southeast Asia

Experts question incentives in Rewards for Justice program

2016-01-31

[Inquirer] The $5 million price tag for the capture, dead or alive, of Malaysian terrorist Zulkifli bin Hir, alias Marwan, has caught the attention of experts in the aftermath of a tragic police operation to take him down in Mamasapano, Maguindanao province, a year ago.

How the bounty affected the overall conduct of the operation is not clear. However, a Jakarta-based think-tank has urged a rethinking of the role of rewards in the war on terror. As with other terrorists, the bounty for Marwan's capture was put up by the U.S. Rewards for Justice program. The program is credited for aiding in the downfall of key Abu Sayyaf leaders. As of 2012, intelligence firm Strategic Forecasting said, more than $11 million in bounties had been paid out in the Philippines by the program.

The program's website listed as part of its success stories the capture of key Abu Sayyaf figures: Toting Craft Hanno, Khadaffy Janjalani (deceased), and Abu Solaiman and Hamsiraji Marusi Sali. It paid $100,000 for Hanno, $5 million for Janjalani, $5 million for Solaiman, and $1 million for Sali.

In a report, the Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict, said,"The huge bounties placed on the heads of foreign jihadis have helped to burnish their reputations as world-class terrorists, perhaps out of proportion to their actual roles. They encourage killing high-value targets rather than making any effort to arrest them alive."

In 2008, a Brussels-based think-tank warned about the distorting effect of monetary rewards in the drive against terrorists in the Philippines. In its report, the International Crisis Group noted that military informants "equate amount of bounty with the importance of the individual concerned."

It cited the case of Jemaah Islamiyah operatives Umar Patek and Dulmatin. Dulmatin, who reports to Umar Patek, commanded $10 million in reward for his capture while his boss only fetched $1 million.

The Rewards for Justice program now lists four terrorists in East Asia and the Pacific region whose capture merits its bounty. They are Isnilon Hapilon of Abu Sayyaf, up to $5 million; Radullan Sahiron of Abu Sayyaf, up to $1 million; and Indonesian Jemaah Islamiyah operative Aris Sumarsono alias Zulkarnaen or Daud, up to $5 million. Abdul Basit Usman of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, who was killed last year, is still on the list, with a reward of up to $1 million.

Link

Southeast Asia

Bali bombmaker handed 20 years

2012-06-22

JAKARTA: An Indonesian court convicted bombmaker ~~Umar Patek~~ yesterday for his role in the 2002 Bali attacks that killed 202 people and sentenced him to 20 years jail, ending a decade-long probe into the atrocity.

20 years or the next round of pardons for Ramadan...

Patek was found guilty of premeditated murder and bombmaking in connection with the suicide bombings on a nightclub and bar on the resort island, Indonesias deadliest act of terror.

Hes been proven to have committed an evil conspiracy by bringing in firearms and ammunition for terror acts, chief judge Encep Yuliardi told the West Jakarta district court after an 11-hour hearing. He hid information about acts of terror and he is found to have taken part in premeditated murder. We sentence Umar Patek to 20 years in jail.

Patek was found guilty of all six charges against him, some of which related to Christmas Eve bomb attacks in 2000 on churches in Jakarta. Prosecutors had sought a life sentence for Patek, sparing him the firing squad which has executed three other key players in the Bali bombings because he had shown remorse and apologized to victims and their families.

Patek maintained over the four-month trial that he played only a small role in the bombmaking and that he had tried to stop the operation, most of whose victims were foreigners, at the 11th hour.

After more than eight years on the run, he was arrested in January 2011 in the Pakistani town of Abbottabad, where US commandos four months later killed Al-Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden in a raid.

Wotta coincidence...

Patek is the last key player detained in Indonesia to be tried for the attacks and the verdict closes the chapter on a long legal process.

Link

Southeast Asia

Bali bomber begs for mercy

2012-06-01

Umar Patek is a tiny man, pixie-faced and slump-shouldered inside the white garment worn by devout Muslims. He said, "I'm a quiet person, shy, and low in education," just before his trial for terrorism and mass murder continued yesterday.

But this small man helped create the bombs that tore apart two Bali nightclubs 10 years ago and killed 202 people.

Patek has admitted mixing about 50 kilograms of chemicals to go into almost a ton of explosives used in the bombs.

Successfully mixing explosives that explode only on schedule is a rare ability, as the many reported work accidents over the years attest -- Mutual of Gaza has been paying out from reserves for ages, and Al Qaeda doesn't even offer insurance to the many MBAs who take their course.

But throughout the four months of his trial he has emphasised his unimportance. He told the court he was "a deer" among such "elephants" of the plot as the already executed Imam Samudra, Mukhlas and Amrozi.

No doubt. But their plotting would have been to no avail, absent the technical skills of little Patek.

But in his heart Patek knew what he had done. He said, "My conscience says I am guilty. I did mix [explosive] materials."

Despite this, his lawyers have maintained that he should be found not guilty of the bombings, and guilty only of forging passports.

The man is a commercial artist as well? Truly, he has more than most to be modest about.

They say he opposed the killing of innocents, voiced his opposition to the Bali plot and participated reluctantly. Thus he had "not deliberately" contributed.

It's awfully hard to accidentally mix up a bomb capable of killing several hundred people...

The death sentence is possible for these charges but prosecutors have asked for life in prison. Yesterday Patek made a plea for 10 years or less. He said, "[The explosives I mixed were] less than 50 kilograms. I am guilty for that but ... I believe the panel of judges must consider my motive ... my state of psychology. The panel of judges must consider my disagreement [with the tactics] and that it wasn't my call."

"They put something on my neck, your honour. It controlled me completely...and nobody could hear me scream."

Patek said he was originally lured into jihad in 1991 by Dulmatin (killed in a shootout with police in 2010), who took him to Malaysia as a young man to find work and study religion under radical teacher Mukhlas.

Twenty years later he has lost little of his fanaticism. He said, "My position about jihad remains the same. It is an obligation of every Muslim to carry out jihad."

Kill him. Kill him now.

However, holy war should only be waged against those "who attack Muslims". He said, "My question was, did the Balinese attack Muslims in Bali? Or did the bule [white foreigners] in Bali attack Muslims? Or were they Jews? I think the correct way is to go to Palestine and fight the Jews who slaughtered Palestinians."

Other hardcore beliefs continue. Patek said Abu Bakar Bashir, now serving a 15-year jail sentence for supporting a jihadi training camp in Aceh, was harmless. He said, "I think he only preaches. I think there's nothing wrong with preaching."

Patek has issued apologies to his victims and asked their families to forgive him.

No.

Asked what he could do in reparation, he said there was nothing except to say that "Islam is not a religion of violence".

Except for the jihad thingy, but surely that is a minor detail.

Link

Southeast Asia

Prosecutors Seek Life Term for Bali Bombmaker

2012-05-22

Indonesian prosecutors on Monday asked for a life sentence rather than the death penalty for Umar Patek, the bombmaker accused of being behind the Bali attacks that killed 202 people.

When the trial started in February prosecutors had said they would seek capital punishment for Patek, who was held last year in the Pak town of Abbottabad
... A pleasant city located only 30 convenient miles from Islamabad. The city is noted for its nice weather and good schools. It is the site of Pakistain's military academy, which was within comfortable walking distance of the residence of the late Osama bin Laden....
, four months before al-Qaeda chief the late Osama bin Laden
... who can now be reached at RFD Boneyard...
was killed there.

Prosecutor Bambang Suharyadi told the West Jakarta District Court that Patek had been proved guilty of premeditated murder, but they were seeking a lighter sentence because he had been remorseful and cooperative.

"We the prosecutors recommend... the defendant Umar Patek be given a life sentence," Suharyadi told the court. "He has been polite and cooperative during the trial and regretted what he has done."

Patek, 45, is accused of assembling bombs for the attacks on two nightclubs on the resort island on October 12, 2002 which killed many Western tourists, including 88 Australians, and on churches in Jakarta on Christmas Eve 2000.

Patek on Monday repeated an apology he made earlier this month to the relatives of the dead.

"I regret what I have done... (and) I apologize to the families of victims who died -- Indonesians and foreigners," he said.

Patek is accused of being the expert bombmaker for Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), a Southeast Asian terror network linked to Al-Qaeda.

He denies he led the bombmaking for the Bali attacks, admitting to playing only a small role. He confessed to mixing the chemicals for the explosives, but claimed he did not know how the bombs would be used.

Patek allegedly used simple household tools including a rice ladle to assemble the Bali bombs, which according to the court indictment were housed in ordinary filing cabinets.

He was tossed in the clink
I ain't sayin' nuttin' widdout me mout'piece!
in Abbottabad in January last year. Evidence in the trial suggested bin Laden gave JI $30,000 to wage jihad in the region and Patek might have met him in the Pak town -- a claim he has repeatedly denied.

Link

Southeast Asia

Key Bali Bombing Suspect Tells Victims He's Sorry

2012-05-08

The terror suspect accused of building bombs used in the 2002 Bali nightclub attacks has apologized for the first time to victims.

Umar Patek, a leading member of the al-Qaeda-linked network Jemaah Islamiyah, said he was against the bombings that killed 202 people, most of them foreign tourists, from the start.

Link

Southeast Asia

FBI Agent Says 'Bali Bomber' was Explosives Expert

2012-04-20

[An Nahar] An FBI agent testifying in the trial of the suspected Bali bomb-maker said Thursday the accused had been identified as an explosives expert by other Islamic beturbanned goons and had planned to kill U.S. troops.

Indonesian prosecutors accuse Umar Patek, who was locked away last year in the same Pak town where U.S. commandos later killed al-Qaeda chief the late Osama bin Laden
... who was laid out deader than a mackerel...
, of constructing the bombs that killed 202 people, mostly Westerners.

Frank Pellegrino, a special agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation who interrogated many Islamic beturbanned goons following the 9/11 attacks in the United States, arrived in Bali shortly after the October 2002 nightclub bombings on the holiday island.

Pellegrino said he interrogated around 20 Islamic beturbanned goons, most from the al-Qaeda-linked Southeast Asian terror network Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), of which Patek is believed to be a key member and which was behind the Bali attacks.

"Many did know Mr. Patek and all described him -- especially after the time of Bali bombings -- as a leader, a bomb-maker, a well-known bomb-maker who knew how to mix chemicals and knew how to teach people how to mix chemicals," Pellegrino testified at the trial at the West Jakarta District Court.

Pellegrino was one of the FBI agents responsible for tracking self-confessed 9/11 criminal mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who was caught by Pak authorities on March 1, 2003.

He said the FBI had already been looking into JI because of threats of an attack on the U.S. embassy in Singapore in 2001.

Patek's name was quickly known by the FBI after the Bali attacks, Pellegrino said.

"A very famous sketch was drawn of what he looked like," he told the court. "We realized pretty quickly it was Jemaah Islamiyah," he added.

Pellegrino said he had many discussions with Indonesian police following the Bali attacks about Patek's activities in Afghanistan, where the suspected bomb-maker is known to have trained.

"He continued being a terrorist, he continued making bombs and was planning to attack U.S. troops in the Philippines," he testified.

Patek, 45, went on trial in February, charged with murder, bomb-making and illegal firearms possession. Prosecutors say they will push for the death penalty.

Three JI members -- ringleader Imam Samudra and the brothers Mukhlas and Amrozi -- were executed by firing squad in November 2008 for their roles in the Bali bombings.

According to the indictment, Patek was involved in assembling the bombs for the attacks and also strikes on churches in Jakarta on Christmas Eve 2000.

Link

Southeast Asia

Four survivors of Bali bombings testify at trial

2012-04-06

JAKARTA, Indonesia: Four foreign victims of the 2002 Bali bombings testified Thursday in the trial of an Indonesian militant accused of helping to build the massive car bomb used in the terrorist attack.

Australians Jason McCartney, Peter Hughes and Stuart Anstee and American Steven William Cabler told an Indonesian court how explosives carried in a backpack and a van destroyed two packed nightclubs. The attack was Asias most deadly terror strike and killed 202 people, including 88 Australians and seven Americans.

Umar Patek, 45, a leading member of the Al-Qaeda-linked network Jemaah Islamiyah, was arrested last year in Pakistan. He is the last key suspect to be tried in the Bali bombings and faces a possible death penalty if found guilty of various terror-related and criminal charges.

Prosecutors plan to use the testimonies of the foreign victims to support their sentencing demand.

Their specific stories are at the link.

Link

India-Pakistan

Nuggets from the Urdu press

2012-03-25

Ahmadinejad quarrels with Ayatullah Khamenei
Reported in monthly Naya Zamana President Ahmadinejad of Iran fell foul of Spiritual Leader Ayatullah Khamenei by declaring that the latter's son Mujtaba Khamenei was guilty of defrauding two Iranian banks of Iran of 3 crore dollars by using his father's authority. Ahmadinejad complained that the media and the judiciary were actually projecting him negatively to spoil his relations with Khamenei. When Ahmadinejad removed the intelligence chief of Iran Muslehi he was restored to his position by the Spiritual Leader.

Aslam Beg on 'election conspiracy'
Famous ex-army chief Aslam Beg was quoted in Mashriq as saying that next elections in Pakistain would be held in October because the powers that be had agreed on this. The PPP government panicked when it saw that Army Chief Kayani
... four star general, current Chief of Army Staff of the Mighty Pak Army. Kayani is the former Director General of ISI...
had got a high level of protocol in China thinking that it would now be removed with Chinese consent. This led to PM Gilani issuing a controversial statement against the Army.

Army killed Benazir through Baitullah
Daily Nawa-e-Waqt reported that a JIT report presented by Interior Minister Malik at Sindh Assembly stated that Musharraf had killed Benazir in December 2007 through Baitullah Mehsud, chief of Taliban, who trained men with the help of Al Qaeda and the Haqqania madrassa of Maulana Samiul Haq - the teacher of Taliban - where the killers stayed in room 96 of the madrassa hostel. Two coppers were involved in the liquidation, one of them got himself demoted to lead the security detail of Benazir which disappeared just before her killing, and later he washed the place to remove evidence.

Shaukat Tareen against Benazir card
Quoted in Jinnah former finance minister Shaukat Tareen said that billions of rupees spent by the government under Benazir Income Support programme as direct subsidy to the poor was a waste and amounted to political bribe to garner votes.

'Parliament is supreme'
Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan stated in Mashriq that among all the state institutions the parliament was supreme and there will be no clash between the executive and the judiciary and the prime minister will not be handcuffed by the Supreme Court. He welcomed the 20th Amendment saying it will ensure impartial elections.

Why India is Most Favoured now?
Quoted in Naya Zamana Baloch leader of the PPP in Quetta Lashkari Raisani stated that Pakistain was now ready to give India the Most Favoured nation status but there was a time that when the Baloch said they considered India not an enemy but simply a neighbour they were punished by the state. The Baloch were told that the trouble in Balochistan

...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it...
was not their struggle but mischief started by India and its secret agency RAW.

Hindu girls being forcibly married
Monthly Naya Zamana quoted Bloody Karachi
...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It may be the largest city in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous...
Hindu Panchayat leader Amarnath that the Hindu community of Sindh was suffering because of the new practice of forcibly marrying their daughters. He said the pattern of crime was that first the young girl is made to run away from home and then seduced into marrying Mohammedan boys. He said no one including the police and politicians was heeding his complaints. He said in the crime of marrying Hindu girls religious leaders were directly involved. Madrassas are used to issue certificates of change of religion in respect of the affected Hindu girls.

Osama's address was known in Indonesia
Indonesian terrorist Umar Patek was quoted in daily Pakistain as saying that he came to Abbottabad
... A pleasant city located only 30 convenient miles from Islamabad. The city is noted for its nice weather and good schools. It is the site of Pakistain's military academy, which was within comfortable walking distance of the residence of the late Osama bin Laden....
to meet the late Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Laden is dead.
He took two shots to the head.
That made him frown
and he had to lie down.
Osama bin Laden is dead.
because his address was known to him in Indonesia. Patek was incarcerated in Abbottabad trying to meet Osama so that he could go to Afghanistan and take part in jihad on behalf of Al Qaeda. He stayed in Pakistain a long time and was doing business of selling honey. He also made bombs. Patek is now being investigated by Indonesian police.

Javed Hashmi attacks Sharifs
Quoted by Express Tehrik Insaf leader Javed Hashmi appealed to

Nawaz Sharif
... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf...
and Shahbaz Sharif to take pity on the nation and leave politics ( Khuda ra mulk ki jan chchor dain). He included the two among the ten politicians who needed to be kicked out of Pakistain together with PM Gilani.

Meera changes tack on marriage
Quoted in Jinnah filmstar Meera has changed her line on her marriage with an American-Pak pilot Naveed Shahzad and now says her decision is not final because the man had not given her present or a ring for engagement. She said she was investigating Naveed's first marriage and will make up her mind only after knowing all the facts. According to Mashriq Meera's own former husband who claims to be her husband still on the basis of nikah-nama appeared on the scene and expressed his determination to prevent another marriage by Meera. Ateeq said that he had sent a notice to Naveed about his intention.

America eying Balochistan
World-famous strategist and ex-ISI boss

Hamid Gul
The nutty former head of Pakistain's ISI, now Godfather to Mullah Omar's Talibs and good buddy and consultant to al-Qaeda's high command...
told Nawa-e-Waqt that Nawaz Sharif should go and make a camp (deray dal day) in Balochistan and try to allay the Baloch leaders to make the province safe because America and Europe had been eying Balochistan to annex it because of its strategic importance in the region. He added the crucial information that after oil was finished in the Middle East, oil from the Caspian Sea will be the next source of energy, for which Balochistan will be the most important territory to annex.

Why India is Most Favoured now?
Quoted in Naya Zamana Baloch leader of the PPP in Quetta Lashkari Raisani stated that Pakistain was now ready to give India the Most Favoured nation status but there was a time when the Baloch said they considered India not an enemy but simply a neighbour they were punished by the state. The Baloch were told that the trouble in Balochistan was not their struggle but mischief started by India and its secret agency RAW.

Ch Nisar got rid of IG Punjab
Reported in Mashriq Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan of PMLN had approached IG Punjab Javed Iqbal with sifarish which he had ignored as a result of which Ch Nisar had got rid of him through Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif. But Javed Iqbal was a bold officer who had defied earlier governments when they tried to interfere in his work. He had recently changed 556 coppers in the province and stated publicly that if the province wanted to end crime it had to put an end to political appointments. After that statement Ch Nisar tried to order him, which he ignored. Most of the senior officers were unhappy with him too.

How Asad Mengal was killed by Army
Writing in Jang Hamid Mir stated that in 1976 the Army under General Zia kidnapped Asad Mengal the son of the Baloch leader Ataullah Mengal from Bloody Karachi and killed him. After killing him his body was buried somewhere ion Thatta. Prime Minister Bhutto later wrote in his memoir that when he asked General Zia about the kidnapping of Asad Mengal he was advised to say that Asad Mengal had gone into exile in Afghanistan. Bhutto took the advice but he was wrong in doing so.

Taliban lie about girls' schools
Monthly Naya Zamana reported that Taliban front man Ehsanullah Ehsan stated that the Taliban were not against the education of girls but were protesting against secular education because it ignored religious instruction. He was commenting on the world peace award won by a girl from Swat

...a valley and an administrative district in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province of Pakistain, located 99 mi from Islamabad. It is inhabited mostly by Pashto speakers. The place has gone steadily downhill since the days when Babe Ruth was the Sultan of Swat...
on the basis of writing. But in 2009 the Taliban ruled Swat and forbade the girls from going to school and destroyed 400 schools dedicated to the education of girls.

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