Bali bomb suspect denies ground role

The alleged mastermind of last October's Bali blasts has told a court that he played no field role in the atrocity and denied…

The alleged mastermind of last October's Bali blasts has told a court that he played no field role in the atrocity and denied attending three meetings prosecutors alleged were held to plan the attacks.

But Imam Samudra, 33, indicated he was involved in the attacks by a group of Indonesian Muslim militants which killed 202 people, mainly young, foreign holidaymakers. The most devastating was at the Sari nightclub.

"The Sari Club was full of white people and the allies of America," he told the court on Wednesday. "I didn't think about further repercussions."

He said Amrozi, the first suspect arrested in the case, chose Indonesia's famous tourist island as the target. Samudra was speaking as a witness in Amrozi's trial.

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"I was not involved on the ground. From the beginning, I didn't want to know such things," Samudra said.

Prosecutors have accused Samudra of being the Bali mastermind, of plotting, organising and carrying out the attacks.

They have said Samudra chaired several planning meetings involving Amrozi leading up to the attacks.

"I met Amrozi once in a kiosk, but that was just a chat. I was surprised when I browsed the internet and found Amrozi said there were meetings," he said, adding that if he needed to communicate he used text messages on his handphone.

"The nature of this movement is underground, no elaborate division of labour. Automatically, everyone knows his job."

Asked to comment, Amrozi later said he had made up details about the three meetings judges in his trial had referred to.

Amrozi faces charges of helping plot terror acts along with buying explosive materials and a minivan that was parked in front of the Sari Club where it exploded in a massive fireball.

Both men face the maximum penalty of death. Samudra's trial began on June 2, and Amrozi on May 12.

Amrozi and Samudra are among 30 militants expected to face trial over the blasts, the worst terror act since the September 11, 2001, suicide attacks on New York and Washington.

None of the key suspects - who have stated they wanted to wage war on the United States - has publicly denied involvement in the attacks. Indonesia has blamed the atrocity on Southeast Asia's militant Jemaah Islamiah network.

"Waging war against the United States was my idea but you should ask Amrozi about the idea of Bali. I heard about the Bali idea from him," Samudra, stroking his wispy beard, said in response to a question from a member of the panel of five judges. Samudra added that he had planned to bomb a US embassy or consulate, although he did not say in which country.