Bali bombers defense team withdraws request for second sentence review

Denpasar (ANTARA News) - The lawyers` team of the 2002 Bali bombing death row convicts, Amrozi et al, officially witdrew its request for a second review of its clients` sentences by the Supreme Court after the Denpasar District Court hearing the request refused to let the three appear in court.

"We are officially withdrawing the request for a review of our three clients` sentences as filed through the Denpasar District Court," Fachmi Bachmid, a member of the Muslim Defense Team (TPM), said at a Denpasar Dsitrict Court session here Monday.

The TPM had decided to withdraw the request because the Denpasar District Court`s panel of judges handling it had rejected the team`s proposal that Amrozi, Imam Samudra and Ali Ghufron be arraigned again to be questioned as witnesses to complement the new evidence affecting their cases.

The jury chaired by judge Daniel Palintin firmly turned down the proposal on the ground the three convicts had already been heard to sufficient extent during their trials.

Judge Palintin said if the TPM had decided to withdraw its request for a second review of its clients` sentences, it was its good right to do so as its clients` legal representatives.

Public Prosecutor Sudarmawan SH at the session also objected to the TPM`s request to rearraign the three convicts.

The jury eventually said since the TPM had withdrawn its request for a sentence review, there was no need any longer to contiue the hearings and closed the session.

The three Bali bombing convicts are currently being held at a maximum security prison in Nusakambangan, Central Java, to which they had been moved from the Kerobokan State Penintentiary in Bali in 2005. (*) end