A Singaporean Islamist who trained for "holy war" in Afghanistan and met Osama bin Laden in 2000 was sentenced to 18 years' jail Tuesday under Indonesia's anti-terrorism law. Mohammad Hasan bin Saynudin, 35, yelled "Allahu akbar" (God is greater) as the sentence was read out in South Jakarta district court.
Among other crimes, he was convicted of planning the 2007 murder of Christian teacher Dago Simamora and a bomb attack on a backpacker tourist cafe in Sumatra which was aborted due to fears of Muslim casualties. Judge Haswandi said the bearded extremist, who had boasted of his exploits to the media during the trial, "never showed remorse for what he did".
"The accused disturbed the stability and peace of Indonesia and spoilt the image of Indonesia in the eyes of the international community," he said. The judge added however that the state's request for a 20-year sentence had not been granted because Hasan had admitted his crimes.
Wearing a long white robe with matching turban, Hasan looked angry when the judge announced the sentence. "This sentence is not valid and not compatible with Islamic sharia law," he told reporters as he was led away by police.
"As a holy warrior I'm only scared of God's punishment. I could be sentenced to death and I wouldn't be scared." Police said Hasan was linked to regional terror group Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) but he has denied any knowledge of the militant outfit. Arriving at court on Tuesday, he joked with reporters that the only group he was part of was a popular Indonesian rock band called The Changcuters. He was arrested with nine other terror suspects in South Sumatra last year, when police uncovered a safe house containing home-made bombs.