Australia Fighting Release Of Bali Bombmaker Who Helped Carry Out The Bali Terror Attack In 2002
One of those responsible for making the bombs that were used in the Bali terror attack that left 202 people dead has had his sentence reduced, meaning he could be released on parole this month.
In 2012, Umar Patek was sentenced to 20 years in prison after being convicted of helping mix the bombs used to inflict mass murder at two tourist bars in Bali in 2002.
Patek was a member of al-Qaeda-linked militant group Jemaah Islamiyah, he was also sentenced for the part he played in bombing churches in Jakarta.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, said that Patek is now eligible for parole after having five months cut from his sentence to mark Indonesia's independence day.
This most recent reduction is just one of several cuts Patek has had to his sentence, it has not yet been confirmed if his parole will be granted.
On 12 October 2002, 88 Australians, 38 Indonesians, and 23 Britons were among those killed when a suicide bomber detonated his device inside Paddy's Irish bar.
Just as people started running into the street after the initial explosion, a van packed full of explosives was detonated at the nearby Sari Club.
Anthony Albanese said: "They (Indonesia) informed us of that decision, and we informed them of our view of that decision. "They have a system where when anniversaries occur, quite often sentences are reduced and commuted for people.
"But when it comes to someone who's committed such a heinous crime, a designer and maker of a bomb designed to kill people, to kill and maim, then we have a very strong view."
The Australian Prime Minister argued that the potential release of Patek would cause further distress and upset to the families of the victims and vowed to continue to lobby the Indonesian government on the issue.
Patek was on the run for nine years with a $1 bounty on his head before he was eventually captured in Abbottabad, in Pakistan, the same town where Osama bin Laden was killed.
Three other men were also executed for their part in the terror attack.
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