Alleged Bali bomb mastermind Hambali chooses Cuban prison over Indonesian trial

The alleged Bali bombings mastermind was pushing to be extradited to Indonesia for trial – until he found out what happened to some of his co-accused.

The alleged evil mastermind behind the Bali bombings was pushing to be extradited from Guantanamo Bay back to Indonesia for trial – until he found out his cohorts had been executed by firing squad.

Hambali had been held in isolation for 16 years and before that three years in a CIA black site prison when he asked Indonesian law enforcement officials who were questioning him to help facilitate his return.

Terrorism expert Rohan Gunaratna revealed that after the offficers told him of the executions, the alleged terrorist decided to stay in Cuba.

“He did not pursue it,” Professor Gunaratna said.

“He did not think Indonesia would do that.”

Hambali aka Encep Nurjaman.

Hambali – whose real name is Encep Nurjaman – has been held in detention without trial for 19 years over his role in the 2002 Bali bombings which killed 88 Australians.

He was only charged last year in a move seen to complicate efforts to close down the infamous Cuban detention centre.

Buildings and cars burning after bomb blasts in the tourist area of Kuta, Bali, in 2002. Picture: AFP / Darma

But the trial may be in jeopardy of further delays as his lawyers fight over official interpreters and access to the Australian Federal Police’s investigative case files, which they argue should have been provided under the discovery process.

An AFP spokeswoman said they were aware of the matter but declined to comment on proceedings before a court in a foreign jurisdiction.

His trial has also been further complicated by torture-tainted evidence after a US Senate Intelligence Committee report revealed Hambali was subjected to “enhanced interrogation techniques” at the CIA black site prison before he even got to Guantanamo Bay.

The length of time he has been held without trial has brought some criticisms.

During the same period the Indonesian police and courts have charged, tried, and convicted more than 30 people involved in the bombings. Three were executed 14 years ago.

Listen to the AFP’s new podcast Operation ALLIANCE: 2002 Bali Bombings

This file photo taken in 2002 shows two of the Bali bombers, Mukhlas (left) and Amrozi (right), smiling during a reconstruction meeting in Solo, Central Java.

Professor Gunaratna said Indonesia had shown swift justice.

Hambali, an Indonesian national, was accused of being a leader of Jemaah Islamiah, a South-East Asian militant group with ties to Al-Qaeda and recruiting militants for jihadist operations.

Hambali, along with Mohammed Nazir Bin Lep; and Mohammed Farik Bin Amin are charged jointly in connection with their alleged roles in the 2002 bombing of nightclubs in Bali, and the bombing of a J.W. Marriott hotel in Jakarta, Indonesia, in 2003. They face charges including conspiracy, murder, attempted murder, intentionally causing serious bodily injury, terrorism, attacking civilians, attacking civilian objects, destruction of property, and accessory after the fact, all in violation of the law of war.

Mukhlas, one of the convicted Bali bombers who was executed by firing squad in 2008, claimed Hambali was the link man between JI and al-Qaeda (until his capture by the CIA in August 2003, provided money to carry out jihad in Bali.

Hambali is one of 779 men seized in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks and invasion of Afghanistan. Of those, 39 remain detained in Guantanamo Bay.