| Imam Samudra | |
| Birth Name: | Abdul Aziz |
| Birth Date: | 1970 1, df=y |
| Birth Place: | Serang, West Java (now Banten), Indonesia |
| Death Place: | Nusa Kambangan, Central Java, Indonesia |
| Nationality: | Indonesian |
| Known For: | Christmas Eve 2000 Indonesia bombings and 2002 Bali bombings |
| Penalty: | Death |
| Conviction Status: | Executed |
| Conviction: | Carrying out an act of terrorism |
| Time: | 23:05 CIT |
| Locations: | Bali, Indonesia |
| Targets: | Two nightclubs with Western clientele, US Consular office |
| Fatalities: | 202 |
| Injuries: | 209 |
| Weapons: | Suicide bombing, car bomb, and bomb vest using potassium chlorate |
| Death Cause: | Execution by firing squad |
Imam Samudra (Arabic: الإمام سامودرة|al-Imām Sāmūdirah, 14 January 1970 – 9 November 2008), also known as Abdul Aziz,[1] Qudama/Kudama, Fatih/Fat, Abu Umar or Heri,[2] was an Indonesian terrorist who was convicted and executed for his role in carrying out the Christmas Eve 2000 Indonesia bombings and 2002 Bali bombings.[3] Samudra, together with Huda bin Abdul Haq (known as Muklas) and Amrozi bin Nurhasyim (known as Amrozi) were executed together for their part in coordinating and carrying out the Bali bombings.[4]
Samudra was born as Abdul Aziz in Serang, Banten (then part of West Java province), he was raised by a single mother as one of 12 children. Samudra graduated from an Islamic school. He left home in 1990 and did not return for a decade - and then only for a few hours before disappearing again, according to his mother. He went to Malaysia and taught at a religious school in the south of the country in the early 1990s. Indonesian authorities say the school was run by the suspected leaders of the militant Jemaah Islamiyah group - Abu Bakar Ba'aysir, the group's spiritual leader, and Riduan Isamuddin, also known as Hambali.[1]
On 12 October 2002 two bombs exploded in the Kuta tourist area on Bali, Indonesia. One hit Paddy's Irish Bar, and the second exploded in a van outside the nearby Sari club. 202 people were killed.
A third bomb exploded near Bali's US consulate, but no one was hurt.[4] Arrested on 21 November 2002, Samudra was about to board a ferry for Sumatra. Police believe he was the planner or "field commander" of the Bali operation.[4] [5]
Explaining his motives for the bombing to documentarian from prison, Samudra stated (translated into English by Haryanto):[6]
Samudra went on trial on 2 June 2003 and testified on 16 July 2003:[4]
On 10 September 2003, he was found guilty for his role in the Bali bombing and sentenced to death. Originally incarcerated in Denpasar's Kerobokan Prison, he was moved to the high-security prison island of Nusakambangan. On 20 November he lodged an appeal against his sentence.[4]
Together with the two other bombers who received death sentences, he launched a constitutional challenge against the use of firing squads. Samudra and the two other bombers preferred beheading, saying that it was a more Islamic form of execution.[7] Despite an initial decision by Muklas, Amrozi and Imam Samudr to not seek a Presidential pardon, on 21 August 2006, Muklas and his co-conspirators authorised their lawyers to file a last appeal which was lodged on 7 December on the basis of retroactive legislation. On 25 September 2008, the Supreme Court of Indonesia rejected the final appeals of Imam Samudra and Mukhlas; having dismissed Amrozi's appeal earlier that month.[4] In October 2008, he remained unrepentant and claimed revenge would be taken for his death.[8] During the month, his final appeals were rejected and the Attorney General's office announced that he would be executed by firing squad in early November 2008.[4] [7]
According to a source in Indonesia's Attorney General Office, the execution was to be done before the end of Sunday, 9 November 2008. This was reportedly delayed from the original plan to allow a representative from the family to identify the body post-execution. However, no representative from Samudra's family were in attendance.[9] [10]
Samudra, along with Amrozi and Huda bin Abdul Haq were executed by firing squad at 00:15 on 9 November 2008.[11]
From his cell, he wrote an autobiography titled I Fight Terrorists (Aku Melawan Teroris in Indonesian), where the "terrorists" are the Americans. It went on sale for 3, on a run of 5,000 copies.[12] In 2004, CNN described the book as a "bestseller in Indonesia".[13]
id:Daniel Rudi Haryanto
. Prison and Paradise. Asia Pacific Films. Honolulu. 865004487. 22:15. .