A reformed Indonesian Islamic militant sentenced to life for the 2002 Bali bombings has said he passed up numerous chances to escape because he was committed to helping police, a leading news magazine said. Ali Imron, who was charged with coordinating the bombing operation and helping make the bombs used in the nightclub attacks that killed more than 200 people, escaped the death sentence because he was remorseful. As a repentant militant, he has been given lenient treatment by police for helping them provide information on fugitives linked to a series of bomb attacks that have rocked the country in recent years.
Tempo news weekly magazine said Imron had an expensive mobile phone and his cell block was equipped with a treadmill and a ping pong table so that he and fellow inmates can exercise. “If I wanted to, I had 1,001 chances (to escape). But for what? I’m sticking to the commitment I have made with the police,” Imron told Tempo in an interview. Three people, including Imron’s two brothers, were sentenced to death for the Bali bombings and are expected to face a firing squad after their final appeals were rejected two months ago. |