Bali bomb-maker Umar Patek sentenced to 20 years in jail
Umar Patek arrives at the West Jakarta court in February in an armored vehicle, escorted by police commandos.
Islamic militant Umar Patek – dubbed the “Demolition Man” – has been sentenced to 20 years in jail by an Indonesian court over his role in the 2002 Bali bombing, which left 202 people dead.
Patek, 45, was found guilty of assembling explosives for a twin suicide bomb attack on a bar and a nightclub on the island. The attack killed nationals from 21 countries in the tourist district of Kuta. He was also found guilty Thursday of mixing chemicals for 13 bombs that exploded in five churches in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, on Christmas Eve 2000, killing around 15, Al Jazeera reported.
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According to the BBC, Patek had admitted helping to mix chemicals for the bombs, but claimed he was not the chief bomb-maker and denied involvement in the attacks.
Prosecutors had sought a life sentence. According to the Associated Press, Patek – a leading member of Jemaah Islamiah, the banned Al Qaeda-linked group which seeks to create a pan-Islamic state throughout southeast Asia – can appeal Thursday’s ruling to a higher court.
He was arrested in January 2011 in Abbottabad, the same Pakistani town where Osama bin Laden was later killed by US forces. According to the Agence France Presse, Patek had a $1 million bounty on his head under the US rewards for justice program.