Sanar Ghanim in Bali as shooting trial where three Aussies face the death penalty continues
A surprising development has unfolded in the location of Sanar Ghanim, the in-hiding underworld target who was shot six times in a Bali villa ambush that killed his mate.
EXCLUSIVE: In-hiding underworld target Sanar Ghanim is in Bali despite telling prosecutors in the “Bali 3” trial he feared setting foot back in the country to testify about the shooting ambush that left him seriously injured and his mate dead.
Ghanim, who is believed to have been in a dispute with a serious organised crime syndicate before gunmen tracked him to his luxury Bali villa and opened fire on June 14, has been spotted in the Canggu area near where he and his guests were staying when the violence erupted.
The 34-year-old Melbourne man was shot up to six times as he escaped the assassin.
He has since been lying low, splitting his time between short visits to Melbourne and living abroad.
Ghanim has returned to Bali at least twice since the ambush to inspect and pay an instalment on his leased villa – Casa Santisya 1 – in Munggu, where the ambush occurred.
It is being renovated although bullet holes remain in the bedroom window.
Apart from the villa, Ghanim may have other interests in Bali luring him back.
His girlfriend, Daniella Gourdeas, who fled the villa after the gunmen used a sledge hammer to break through the front door, has also returned to Bali to inspect the villa in the past fortnight.
Prosecutors, however, told the Denpasar District Court last Monday Ghanim had indicated he would not testify at the trial of accused Australian gunmen Paea I Middlemore Tupou, 26, and Mevlut Coskun, 22, and point man Darcy Francesco Jenson, 27, citing a “threat”.
“He worries about his safety,” a prosecutor told the court.
The 34-year-old will again be summoned to the high-profile trial on Monday.
While Ghanim escaped with his life, his guest, Zivan “Stipe” Radmanovic, was shot dead in a bathroom.
Radmanovic’s wife, Jazmyn Gourdeas, hid under covers in a bedroom as the masked men shot her husband.
At the opening of the trial the widow, who is a mother of six, sat in the gallery of the court supported by her mother.
Her lawyer Sary Latief has told media it had been confronting for Ms Gourdeas to be in the court with the accused men.
Ms Gourdeas was a no show last Monday when she was due to give evidence.
Her sister Daniella has not attended court to date.
It is not clear if the sisters remain in Bali.
Just weeks following the ambush Daniella’s high-end skincare clinic in South Yarra, Melbourne, was firebombed.
It is now a distinct possibility that none of the victims of the raid will give evidence in person at the trial which resumes on Monday.
Witnesses are not compelled to testify under Indonesia’s justice system.
Their statements to Indonesian Police however will be tendered and read out if they do not appear.
Radmanovic and the Gourdeas sisters had been in Bali less than 48 hours when the pre-planned attack took place.
The accused killers, Mr Coskun and Mr Tupou, are standing trial separately while their co-accused, while Mr Jenson, a plumber from Sydney, is also charged with murder and premeditated murder and firearm offences over the brutal hit.
Mr Jenson is facing trial separately from Mr Coskun and Mr Tupou.
If found guilty the trio could face the death penalty and be executed by firing squad.
The accused men have not yet entered pleas to the charges.
Mr Jenson’s lawyers say their client was unaware of the seriousness of the crime that was about to take place.
More Coverage
Originally published as Sanar Ghanim in Bali as shooting trial where three Aussies face the death penalty continues
