From ABC News,1/09/2017
Key points:
• A two-year-old girl was killed in the attack and three others were injured
• The court was told the alleged attacker had only been released from jail a few months earlier
• The device allegedly exploded when it fell off his motorbike outside the church
An Indonesian man accused of killing a toddler in a terrorist attack at a church in East Kalimantan last year has appeared in a Jakarta court room wearing an Islamic State-inspired head dressing.
The convicted terrorist known as Juhanda allegedly detonated a homemade bomb at the church in Samarinda, on a Sunday morning in November last year.
The panel of three judges did not object when he entered the courtroom twice in two days wearing a head dressing with what appeared to be the Islamic State flag imprinted on it.
In the East Jakarta District Court, prosecutors demanded he be jailed for life and for the first time have sought criminal damages from Indonesian Government for the families of the young victims of the attack.
A two-year-old girl, Intan Marbun, was killed and three other children all under the age of five who were playing outside the church were badly injured.
In court, Juhanda smiled from the dock while prosecutors argued he had no remorse.
The court heard the mosque caretaker had only been released from jail for terrorism offences a few months before his alleged IS-inspired attack.
He had been convicted of an attack in Jakarta in 2011, where explosives were hidden in a book and delivered to pro-democracy activists.
The panel of judges heard the family of the dead girl and the other children, who suffered burns to 60 per cent of their bodies, should receive the equivalent of $150,000 in compensation from the Government.
Juhanda allegedly planned mass casualties
According to the indictment tendered to the court, Juhanda swore allegiance to IS in October 2016.
It said he had packed a bag full of black explosive powder and a fuse but it had exploded when it fell off his motorbike outside the church.
The indictment alleged he had hoped to cause mass casualties.
The prosecutors demanded the co-accused in the case, including Indonesian man Joko Sugito, be jailed for up to 10 years.
There have been dozens of arrests of IS-linked suspects in Indonesia this year, amid deep concern young radicals are being inspired by the fighting in the southern Philippines city Marawi.
The Philippines military said ground troops were making a final push to liberate the city, more than 100 days after it was first occupied by IS-backed militants.
The commander of the First Marine Brigade, Melquiades Ordiales, would not say how many more days it would take to liberate the city, but added that militants were now contained in a 500-square-metre area.
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do 31 aug 2017 - 22:41