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Bali bomb: 'No al Qaeda link proven'Trial defense team seek relocation of trial
DENPASAR, Bali -- No link has yet been established tying Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda terrorist network to Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), the militant group blamed for plotting the Bali nightclub bombings, the head of Indonesia's police force says. Indonesia has arrested more than 20 people over the October 12 bomb attack that killed nearly 200 people, with many of the suspects known to have ties to JI, a Southeast Asian network of Muslim militants. However, despite claims made by the Australian government soon after the tragedy that it had information linking al Qaeda to the explosions, Indonesia's top policeman has played down any such connection. Speaking at a seminar in Singapore Wednesday, police chief Da'i Bachtiar said it had been difficult to link the Bali suspects to bin Laden's Islamist terror network blamed for the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States. "We haven't come to any conclusion yet that there is a link between Jemaah Islamiah and al Qaeda. That will depend on the cooperation we have with law enforcement in Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore," Bachtiar said. Bachtiar said Indonesia was still investigating the attack with law enforcement authorities in Southeast Asia and with cooperation from the United States, Australia and Europe. Trial location in doubtLawyers for suspects believed to have plotted and carried out the bombings have requested the trial be moved elsewhere in Indonesia saying members of their legal team have been attacked outside the courthouse. On Tuesday lawyers Rachman Marasabesi and Qadhar Faisal were punched and jostled by a crowd of angry onlookers after they filed a motion at a pre-trial hearing calling for the release of bomb suspect Maskur Abdul Kadir. A day earlier other members of the legal team were pelted with eggs as they left the court building in the Balinese provincial capital, Denpasar. Mohamad Mahendratta, a member of the legal team representing the bomb suspects, said he had petitioned the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights in Jakarta to move the trial off the island to ensure the safety of their clients. BacklashThe angry backlash among Balinese against the bomb suspects has raised concerns over security when the trial proper begins -- possibly as early as next month. The majority of those killed were young Australians, but several Balinese were killed or seriously wounded in the attack. Also severely hit was Bali's economy, which has lost hundreds of millions of dollars in vital tourist revenue in the months since the attack. (Full story) More than 20 people have been arrested in connection with the Bali bombings, several of whom are thought to have ties to JI. The Chief Investigator leading the hunt for the Bali bombers General I Made Mangku Pastika has said all trials in the case should be held in Bali because angry islanders may riot if they are moved elsewhere in Indonesia. Reuters contributed to this report.
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