JAKARTA, 24 July 2004 — A top Indonesian court ruled yesterday that a tough anti-terrorism law used to convict the Bali bombers was unconstitutional, a step that might open the way for fresh appeals by jailed militants.
The decision by the Constitutional Court may also hamper efforts to bring a case against Abu Bakar Bashir, the alleged spiritual leader of Al-Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiah, the group blamed for the Bali bombings, and draw international criticism.
The ruling does not annul the Bali verdicts, but dozens of people convicted for the 2002 Bali nightclub blasts that killed 202 people, mostly foreign tourists, were investigated and charged using the law. Three are on death row.
“The use of the law No. 16, 2003 contradicts the 1945 constitution,” the head of the court, Jimly Asshiddiqie, said in his ruling. The nine judges on the panel ruled five to four against the law. Indonesia has two anti-terror laws. Law No. 15 is a broader piece of legislation while law No. 16 enabled its application retroactively to the Bali case.
Indonesian law does not permit appeals against decisions by the Constitutional Court. Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim country, only enacted its first laws targeting terrorism days after the Bali bombings. A court official said yesterday’s decision did not affect the Bali verdicts.
“This decision did not annul the verdict on Amrozi and others,” justice assistant Muhammad Asrun told reporters, referring to the first Bali bomber to be convicted. Amrozi was sentenced to death.
Abdul Gani Abdullah, director-general of legislation at the Justice Ministry, said any new prosecutions for the Bali bombings could not be conducted under the anti-terror laws. “Those that have not been decided will use the criminal code,” Abdullah said. Bali bombers already convicted would need new evidence to have their cases reviewed, he added.
Wirawan Adnan, a lawyer for several Bali bombers, said he was considering appeals to the Supreme Court as a result of the ruling. “We will consider to appeal the Bali bombing convictions,” he told reporters at the court. “We can call a retrial.”
In Australia, which lost 88 people in the Bali attacks, more than any other country, Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said he could understand why lawyers would use the case to argue for their clients’ freedom.
“But that doesn’t mean that they will be acquitted, that their convictions will be overturned,” he told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio.
“Obviously the Indonesian government officials are studying this decision very closely. They don’t need a lot of egging on by us to come to the conclusion they themselves have come to, which is they want to make sure that the current sentences stand.”
The ruling came just a day after President Megawati Sukarnoputri, locked in a tough election battle for a fresh term in office, praised the Bali prosecutors for their role in combating terror in Indonesia.
It is also a sensitive time as prosecutors prepare a case against Muslim cleric Bashir, in detention awaiting a decision by prosecutors on whether to bring formal charges.
“The decision will not affect any case which has already had a verdict on it,” said Mahendradatta, one of Bashir’s lawyers who also represented several Bali bombers. “But for Bashir it is very different, because Bashir has not yet been tried.”
Harkristuti Harkrisnowo, criminal law expert from University of Indonesia, agreed: “I think it would create an obstacle on the process for Bashir.”
The Bali blasts are the worst militant attack anywhere in the world since the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks in the United States.
Indonesia was hit again when a blast at the JW Marriott Hotel in Jakarta killed 12 in August 2003. The anti-terrorism laws have also been used in investigations and prosecutions in that case.
