JURIST - Paper Chase: Bali bombers get Independence Day sentence reductions

[JURIST] Eighteen people convicted in the 2002 bombings in Bali [CNN special report] that killed 202 people, have had their sentences cut by several months to celebrate Indonesia's Independence Day, prison wardens announced Wednesday. It is an Indonesian custom to reduce the sentences of inmates who exhibit good behavior on national holidays, with the exception of those serving life sentences. Included in the reduction was Cleric Abu Bakar Bashir [Wikipedia profile], the alleged spiritual leader of the al-Qaida-linked terror organization Jemaah Islamiyah [CFR backgrounder], who received a 4.5 month reduction in his 30-month sentence [JURIST report] for his role in the bombing of two Bali nightclubs. Earlier this month, the Indonesian Supreme Court upheld Bashir's conviction [JURIST report], ruling that there was sufficient evidence to sustain the conviction. AP has more.

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