June 25 (UPI) — A U.S. prosecutor has filed charges against Indonesian Guantanamo Bay prison inmate Hambali, accusing him of directing terrorist attacks in Bali and Jakarta.
Hambali, also known as Riduan Isomuddin, was charged with terrorism, murder in violation of the law of war, attempted murder, intentionally causing serious bodily injury, attacking civilians and civilian objects and destruction of property, in violation of the law of war in connection to nightclub bombings in Bali in 2002 and a 2003 attack on the JW Marriott in Jakarta, which killed a combined total of more than 200 people, the Miami Herald first reported.
The October 2002 attack in Bali was Indonesia’s deadliest terror strike, killing 202 people — including 88 Australians, 38 Indonesians and seven Americans.
Hambali has been charged with three simultaneous bombings in a pub, near a dance club and at the U.S. Consulate. Charges state Hambali was “surprised” by the death toll because “he did not expect so many people to die.”
The U.S. war court prosecutor also alleges Hambali had deputies pick up $50,000 from al-Qaida, which the courier Majid Khan said may have been used to fund the 2003 attack on the JW Marriott in Jakarta that killed 10 Indonesians, a Dutch citizen and wounded three Americans.
Hambali has been detained by the CIA since he was arrested in 2003 and held at Guantanamo since 2006, but has never previously been charged with an offense.
Indonesian Foreign Ministry spokesman Arrmanatha Nasir said Indonesia’s government is aware of the new charges and is monitoring the process.
“This is an internal process in the US and is aimed to provide transparency and legal certainty to Hambali,” Nasir said in the Sydney Morning Herald. “We have communicated with Hambali’s lawyer to ensure that his legal rights are respected.”
Convening Authority Harvey Rishikof will determine whether Hambali will ever actually appear in war court and will decide whether or not to authorize a death-penalty case.
