Bali bomber apologizes to victims’ families in person

The Jakarta Post, Wed, August 05 2015


The only surviving actor behind the 2002 Bali bombing, Ali Imron, has apologized to victims’ families directly in a recent meeting in Jakarta, 13 years after the horrifying terrorist attack that killed 202 people.

“I apologize to everyone, especially the victims and their families,” he said during a meeting organized by Australian public broadcasting network SBS for its show Dateline.

In the meeting, Ali met Jan Laczynski, Nyoman Rencini and Ni Luh Erniati in a prison in Jakarta.

Laczynski is an Australian, who lost five friends in the bombing, while Nyoman and Ni Luh lost their husbands in the tragedy. Laczynski flew from Melbourne, while Nyoman and Ni Luh flew from Bali to meet the man, who killed their loved ones.

Admitting that the bombing was a fake form of jihad, Ali said he would take responsibility for his role in the bombing and that he did not mind if he needed to go to Australia to apologize and take responsibility for his wrongdoings.

Ali was the driver of a van carrying bombs that exploded in two tourist spots in Bali. He was spared from the death sentence and instead sentenced to life imprisonment because he had expressed remorse and cooperated with the Indonesian police.

During the meeting, Ali had to answer difficult questions from the victims’ families.

At one point, Laczynski asked, “"Why did you drive the bomb vehicle?”

“I was only carrying out the orders of my seniors in Jamaah Islamiyah,” Ali answered.

During the interview, Ali said he felt relieved as he was able to convey his apology directly to the relatives of the 2002 Bali bombing victims.

However, Laczynski questioned Ali’s apology.

“Are you really sorry?” he asked.

“If you want a proof, what is that proof? I worked together with the counter-terrorism unit to catch my comrades who haven’t seen the light. That’s why I am grateful,” Ali added



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