JAD Leader Aman Abdurrahman Sentenced to Death
Jakarta. The South Jakarta District Court sentenced Jemaah Ansharut Daulah, or JAD, leader Aman Abdurrahman, to death on Friday (22/06).
The Islamic State-affiliated group has been involved in high-profile terrorism attacks.
"The defendant, Oman Rochman, also known as Aman Abdurrahman, is hereby sentenced to death," presiding judge Akhmad Zaini told the courtroom, as reported by BeritaSatu.com.
After the verdict, Aman got on his knees and kissed the courtroom floor in apparent gratitude for being made a martyr.
The trial was guarded by 400 officers.
The five-judge panel ruled that Aman was involved in a number of attacks by the group in the past nine years, including last year's attack on a bus terminal in Kampung Melayu, East Jakarta, and the 2016 attack on Starbucks in Thamrin, Central Jakarta, that resulted in the deaths of four bystanders and four attackers.
According to prosecutors, Aman pledged allegiance to the Islamic State and its leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, in 2014, during his incarceration at the Nusakambangan prison, off the coast of Central Java.
Aman's defense team has one week to file an appeal, but his lawyer said the convict is unlikely to appeal, as he does not recognize the Indonesian state and its laws.
Dozens of masked and heavily armed police officers stood guard as handcuffed Aman was escorted to the court.
The police bomb squad was also on standby, as concerns have risen that the penalty could trigger retaliatory attacks by Aman's followers.
Ricky Gunawan, director of the Community Legal Aid Institute (LBH Masyarakat), said executions of terrorists have not helped in curbing terrorism in Indonesia.
"In 2008, Amrozi, Imam Samudra, Mukhlas were executed. But their death did not reduce terror acts. The death sentence in terrorism cases has the potential to provoke resistance and can strengthen their spirit to continue the terrorist act," Ricky said, referring to Bali bombing terror convicts.
The ruling comes as Indonesia struggles to rein in a rising tide of homegrown militancy, with the House of Representatives approving tougher counterterrorism laws last month.
Suicide bombings last month in Indonesia's second largest city, Surabaya, killed more than 30 people and were carried out by JAD-linked families with young children.
Additional reporting by Reuters.
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