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Bali bombing suspect admits role
From CNN Correspondent Atika Shubert
JAKARTA, Indonesia (CNN) -- A key suspect in last year's Bali attacks has admitted in court he was involved in the bombings. Ali Ghufron, known by his alias Mukhlas, was testifying at the trial of Abu Bakar Ba'asyir, a Muslim cleric and the alleged spiritual head of Jemaah Islamiah (JI), the regional militant group agitating for a South East Asian Islamic state. During Thursday's hearings, four key Bali bomb suspects testified that Ba'asyir, 64, had no links to any terror organizations or any acts of violence carried out in Indonesia. Ba'asyir is accused of treason, with prosecutors alleging he authorized the Christmas Eve bombings of Indonesian churches in 2000 that killed 19 people. He has not been charged in relation to the Bali bombings. Three of the four witnesses said they themselves were members of JI. Mukhlas claimed he was the operational chief of the organization, adding that he knows al Qaeda's Osama bin Laden "very well." He told a packed courtroom he took over as operations chief after his predecessor, Riduan Isamuddin, alias Hambali, went into hiding. "Bombings in Indonesia and other places are not connected to the defendant [Ba'asyir]. We were inspired by Afghanistan to do the last bombing in Bali." While admitting he knew bin Laden, Mukhlas denied al Qaeda had provided funds for the attack on a Bali nighspot that killed more than 200 people. (Bali trial) Earlier, alleged Bali bombing mastermind Imam Samudra claimed he was beaten by Indonesian police after his capture. Samudra's testimony was cut short by the judge after his claims of police brutality fired up the pro-Ba'asyir crowd. Samudra said Ba'asyir had never ordered any bombings and dismissed the cleric as out of touch and boring. "It's the age of the Internet but he still talks about mysticism while Muslims are being slaughtered," he said. Before Samudra took the stand, the court heard from a suspect named Mubarok, who is accused of delivering the van used in the Bali attacks. The fourth witness, Ali Imron, said he believed Ba'asyir was JI's leader but had no evidence, while Mubarok said he had been told the cleric now headed the group. The trial was adjourned until June 4.
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