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Amrozi to appeal death sentence
From CNN Jakarta Bureau Chief Maria Ressa
DENPASAR, Indonesia (CNN) -- Lawyers for convicted Bali bomber Amrozi bin Nurhasyim said Friday they will appeal his guilty verdict and death sentence, a day after it was handed down in a Bali courtroom. They plan to file the appeal Monday. An Indonesian court Thursday convicted Amrozi -- the so-called "smiling bomber" -- of orchestrating last October's Bali nightclub bombings that killed 202 people, sentencing him to death for the crime. After the chief judge read the verdict, Amrozi pumped his fist into the air, smiled and offered two thumbs up to court spectators. Initially, Amrozi embraced the verdict, saying his death sentence would make him into a martyr. "[Amrozi] does not have the sufficient intelligence to be accepted as the mastermind of the bombing so we believe that he does not deserve the death penalty so that's why we're going to appeal," Amrozi's lawyer, Wirawan Adman, said. "We appeal not because we feel that our client is innocent. We appeal because we need to correct the applications of the law." Another 32 people also face trial over the attacks -- including the alleged ringleader of the plot, Imam Samudra, and two of Amrozi's older brothers -- suspected bomb-making expert Ali Imron, and Mukhlas, a known leader in the Islamic Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) terror group. Amrozi's death sentence is expected to be deferred so that he can take the witness stand in the other trials. The guilty verdict was expected, since Amrozi, a 41-year-old mechanic, had confessed to buying the van and chemicals to make the deadliest bomb, which exploded outside the packed Sari Club in Kuta, Bali. Dubbed the "smiling bomber" for his cavalier attitude after his arrest in November, Amrozi yelled "Allah is great" as he entered the special district court Thursday, the same expression he has used on each of his 18 appearances since the trial began on May 12. The verdict comes just two days after a bomb blast at the JW Marriott Hotel in Jakarta killed 10 people. There are fears Thursday's verdict could bring further terror attacks. Indonesian police blamed the October 12 blasts on JI, believed to be linked to Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network. Forensics experts said one of the bomb ingredients used in this week's Marriott explosion was potassium chlorate, a chemical also used in the Bali bombings. Last month, a raid on a suspected terrorist bomb-making factory netted a large quantity of potassium chlorate and a suspected JI member.
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