SYDNEY, May 24 (UPI) -- Australia wants an Indonesian national to face trial in Australia for his alleged role in the Bali bombings, in which 88 Australians died, officials said.
Umar Patek, accused of involvement in the 2002 bombings in a club and a bar that took 202 lives, was arrested in January following a gunfight in Abbottabad, the Pakistan town where al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden was killed this month, the Sydney Morning Herald reported Tuesday.
While Patek was not in Pakistan to meet bin Laden, he was trying to re-establish connections with al-Qaida, the Herald reported.
Bill Paterson, an Australian counterterrorism ambassador, said there are four venue options for Patek's trial -- Australia, Indonesia, Pakistan and the United States.
''We are looking at (Australia). Clearly, it's our view that he was involved in aspects of the Bali bombing. But the problem would be seeking to assure that we had grounds to prosecute successfully," Paterson said.
Patek would not be tried for the Bali incidents if he were tried in Pakistan, where he is accused of constructing the bomb detonated outside the Bali club.
Indonesian officials said their counterterrorism laws were introduced in 2003 and cannot be applied retroactively.
wo 25 mei 2011 - 8:09