Posted: 9/9/2005 12:41:09 AM EDT
Cleric jailed over embassy bombFrom correspondents in Jakarta September 08, 2005 www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,16539285%255E23109,00.htmlA MUSLIM cleric has been jailed for seven years for helping assemble the bomb that killed 12 people outside the Australian embassy in Jakarta a year ago.
Heri Sigu Samboja, 23, was guilty of two counts of terrorism, Chief Judge Asnawati said in a verdict at South Jakarta District Court.
Samboja carried out a "sinister conspiracy in terrorism" and was guilty of "withholding information on terror attacks", Asnawati said.
But he was cleared of a primary charge of having directly taken part in the planning of the September 9, 2004, attack with Azahari Husin and Noordin Muhammad Top, two key suspects who are still at large.
Samboja, who teaches religion at an Islamic boarding school, visited Jakarta and conducted surveillance on the embassy before a truck driven by Heri Golun exploded outside the building, Asnawati said.
The defendant also helped to assemble the bomb that killed 12 people, including the suicide bomber, and wounded more than 200, she said.
Samboja maintained his innocence and said he would appeal against the sentence.
"It would be (sinful under Islam) for me to accept this verdict," Samboja said after the trial.
"Let the judgment in heaven decide....all has been arranged by the All-Knowing Allah."
Samboja said he had not known the men he had befriended and helped were Azahari and Noordin, since the pair had used aliases and looked younger than pictures distributed by police.
He said he was merely a "cook" for the pair, and had never taken part in preparing the bomb.
Malaysians Azahari and Noordin are also wanted for their key roles in several other attacks, including the October 2002 Bali bombings and the bombing of Jakarta's Marriott hotel in August 2003.
The Bali bombings killed 202 mostly foreign holidaymakers, including 88 Australians, while the Marriott strike killed 12 people.
The district court is due to rule next Tuesday whether a key suspect in the embassy bombing, Iwan Darmawan Mutho alias Rois, should be given a death sentence.
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