Bali bombing: witness testimony could have helped free Indonesia’s Hambali, lawyer says

Convicted Bali bomber Iman Samudra said Hambali was not involved in the attacks, according to his lawyer James Hodes

Hambali’s role in the attacks is difficult to assess without due process and lack of information about his position in terrorist group Jemaah Islamiah, analysts note

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A photo made available by the Malaysia Police Department shows Hambali, the alleged mastermind of the October 2002 Bali Bombing and the 2003 attack on the JW Marriott hotel in Jakarta. Photo: EPA

Published: 9:30am, 4 May 2023Updated: 2:42pm, 4 May 2023

As three Indonesian terrorism suspects attended a pre-trial hearing last week before a military commission at Guantanamo Bay over their involvement in the 2002 Bali bombing, questions have emerged about whether they could have been freed earlier had witness testimony been taken and preserved.

Indonesian national Encep Nurjaman, also known as Hambali, was arrested in Thailand in 2003, along with Malaysian citizens Mohammed Nazir Bin Lep and Mohammed Farik Bin Amin. All three were members of the Southeast Asian Islamic hardline group Jemaah Islamiah (JI) linked to al-Qaeda.

The men were allegedly held at CIA black sites in Romania and Morocco where they were tortured, according to a 2014 US Senate Committee Report, before being moved to Guantanamo Bay some three years later.

In 2021, the United States government formally charged the three with murder, conspiracy and terrorism for their involvement in the 2002 Bali blasts – which killed more than 200 people, including Australians and Americans – and the 2003 bombing on the JW Marriott hotel in Jakarta which killed 11. The charges were cast as acts of war due to the men’s alleged association with al-Qaeda, which the US declared its top enemy following the September 11 attacks.

The charge sheet stated that Hambali “murdered 211 persons, seriously injured at least 31 other persons, and committed multiple other offenses under the law of war”.

The two Malaysians are accused of having provided logistical support to Hambali, including falsifying documents.

Hambali is also accused of scheming with senior al-Qaeda leaders to carry out post-September 11 attacks against US interests.

Bali bombing: witness testimony could have helped free Indonesia’s Hambali, lawyer says

Convicted Bali bomber Iman Samudra said Hambali was not involved in the attacks, according to his lawyer James Hodes Hambali’s role in the attacks is difficult to assess without due process and lack of information about his position in terrorist group Jemaah Islamiah, analysts note

Convicted Bali bomber Iman Samudra said Hambali was not involved in the attacks, according to his lawyer James Hodes

Hambali’s role in the attacks is difficult to assess without due process and lack of information about his position in terrorist group Jemaah Islamiah, analysts note