Post by carolinem on Oct 13, 2007 12:18:59 GMT -5
Saturday October 13
The three death row Bali bombers say they are ready to die and won't be asking for a presidential pardon.
They also expressed delight at the recent controversy surrounding their impending executions, saying the more pain they cause the greater their reward in heaven
"I'm very happy especially after hearing that (Australian Prime Minister) John Howard is very regretful, very angry with us," the so-called smiling assassin, Amrozi bin Nurhasyim said on Saturday at the island prison where he is held.
"The more he is angry, the more I will get rewards from god, right?
"The more I make infidels angry, the more I will get my reward, so I'm more relaxed."
Islamic militants Amrozi, his elder brother Ali Ghufron (alias Mukhlas) and Imam Samudra were on Saturday briefly let out of their isolation cells at Batu Prison, on the island of Nusakambangan in Central Java, to pray for the holy Islamic day Idul Fitri.
They walked the 100 metres to the prison mosque, At-Taubah, unshackled, in their best robes, to pray with other inmates - murderers, terrorists and drug dealers - for Saturday's holiday which marks the end of the fasting month Ramadan.
But as the one-hour ceremony wound up, the three began shouting "god is great", rallying support from other prisoners, before they were told to stop by the guards.
The trio could face execution within weeks for their roles in the October 2002 Bali nightclub bombings, which killed 202 people including 88 Australians.
Authorities must formally ask if they will seek clemency from the president, before the three will face the firing squad.
But the impending executions have been mired in controversy, with Australian victims angered by opposition to the death penalty ahead of Friday's fifth anniversary of the atrocity.
Prime Minister John Howard also on Friday signalled a formal complaint to Indonesia, after news broke that the country's anti-terror chief hosted a party of reformed terrorists at his home to aid the terror fight last month.
On Saturday, Indonesian authorities were considering granting sentence cuts to 10 people involved in the first and second Bali attacks, to mark the significant Islamic holiday.
The three key players in the bombings remain unrepentant, although they apologised to Muslim victims of the terrorist attacks, to mark the holy day, in which Muslims traditionally apologise for their wrongs.
"We apologise for the victims of the Bali bombings, but the Muslims," Samudra said.
"The infidels will go to hell anyway."
Samudra said the three were not afraid to die, adding he would prefer beheading.
"Absolutely we are not afraid," he said.
"That's what I've been waiting for ... firstly with execution we will go to heaven and then our wish to see God and the angels is far higher than the wish of the infidels for our death.
"Why would we be scared of death? Even now we are not scared to be executed.
"(US President George W) Bush and his allies, you all will go to hell but me and all my friends in the world will go to heaven."
"No, no, no there won't be any clemency because its not Islamic law - that is part of democracy and the law of democracy, and we are totally against democracy."
The three death row Bali bombers say they are ready to die and won't be asking for a presidential pardon.
They also expressed delight at the recent controversy surrounding their impending executions, saying the more pain they cause the greater their reward in heaven
"I'm very happy especially after hearing that (Australian Prime Minister) John Howard is very regretful, very angry with us," the so-called smiling assassin, Amrozi bin Nurhasyim said on Saturday at the island prison where he is held.
"The more he is angry, the more I will get rewards from god, right?
"The more I make infidels angry, the more I will get my reward, so I'm more relaxed."
Islamic militants Amrozi, his elder brother Ali Ghufron (alias Mukhlas) and Imam Samudra were on Saturday briefly let out of their isolation cells at Batu Prison, on the island of Nusakambangan in Central Java, to pray for the holy Islamic day Idul Fitri.
They walked the 100 metres to the prison mosque, At-Taubah, unshackled, in their best robes, to pray with other inmates - murderers, terrorists and drug dealers - for Saturday's holiday which marks the end of the fasting month Ramadan.
But as the one-hour ceremony wound up, the three began shouting "god is great", rallying support from other prisoners, before they were told to stop by the guards.
The trio could face execution within weeks for their roles in the October 2002 Bali nightclub bombings, which killed 202 people including 88 Australians.
Authorities must formally ask if they will seek clemency from the president, before the three will face the firing squad.
But the impending executions have been mired in controversy, with Australian victims angered by opposition to the death penalty ahead of Friday's fifth anniversary of the atrocity.
Prime Minister John Howard also on Friday signalled a formal complaint to Indonesia, after news broke that the country's anti-terror chief hosted a party of reformed terrorists at his home to aid the terror fight last month.
On Saturday, Indonesian authorities were considering granting sentence cuts to 10 people involved in the first and second Bali attacks, to mark the significant Islamic holiday.
The three key players in the bombings remain unrepentant, although they apologised to Muslim victims of the terrorist attacks, to mark the holy day, in which Muslims traditionally apologise for their wrongs.
"We apologise for the victims of the Bali bombings, but the Muslims," Samudra said.
"The infidels will go to hell anyway."
Samudra said the three were not afraid to die, adding he would prefer beheading.
"Absolutely we are not afraid," he said.
"That's what I've been waiting for ... firstly with execution we will go to heaven and then our wish to see God and the angels is far higher than the wish of the infidels for our death.
"Why would we be scared of death? Even now we are not scared to be executed.
"(US President George W) Bush and his allies, you all will go to hell but me and all my friends in the world will go to heaven."
"No, no, no there won't be any clemency because its not Islamic law - that is part of democracy and the law of democracy, and we are totally against democracy."