Bali Bombers' Sentences Cut By ZAKKI HAKIM, Associated Press Writer
ICC Note: On Indonesia s Independence Day militant Islamic terrorists get their sentences reduced.
8/19/07 Indonesia (YahooNews) - Ten Islamic militants jailed for suicide bombings on Bali that killed more than 220 people many of them foreign tourists had several months shaved off their sentences Friday to mark Indonesia 's Independence Day.
It is a local tradition to cut jail terms on holidays, but the decision was likely to anger countries that lost citizens in the 2002 and 2005 attacks on the resort island's crowded nightclubs and restaurants.
The father of one of the victims lambasted the "blatant disregard" for those who died.
Those who benefited from Friday's remissions were serving between eight and 18 years on a variety of charges, including helping to plan the bombings, sheltering the main suspects and setting up a Web site explaining how to kill foreigners.
Six men involved in the Oct. 12, 2002, terror strikes that claimed 202 lives 88 of them Australians had their sentences cut by five months for good behavior, said Ilham Djaya, chief warden at Bali 's main prison.
Four others convicted in the 2005 attacks that left 20 people dead received two-month reductions.
Indonesia , the world's most populous Muslim nation, has been hit by a string of terrorist attacks blamed on the al-Qaida-linked militant group Jemaah Islamiyah since the Sept. 11, 2001, strikes in the U.S.
But it has not suffered a suicide bombing in nearly two years, thanks largely to the arrest and imprisonment of hundreds of suspects, prompting the country's president to claim victory Thursday in the so-called war on terror
The government says all prisoners in Indonesia have a constitutional right to sentence reductions, regardless of their crimes, except for those serving life in prison or on death row .
