Bali bombings mastermind Umar Patek to be freed from jail early

A bombmaker who helped assemble the explosives that killed 202 people - including 88 Australians - in the Bali bombings will walk free from jail early.

A bombmaker who helped assemble the explosives that killed 202 people - including 88 Australians - in the Bali bombings will walk free from jail early.

Umar Patek was locked up for 20 years in 2012 for his role in the catastrophic attack on night spots in the tourist destination.

His bombs tore through the Sari Club and Paddy’s Irish Bar in Kuta on October 12, 2002.

He was spared the death penalty and a life sentence for helping the police and apologising to victims’ families.

Patek will be allowed to walk out of Porong prison near Surabaya this month after “behaving well” behind bars, Indonesian officials said.

Mastermind of the 2002 Bali bombings Umar Patek escorted by anti-terror police as he arrives at Bali Police Headquarters in Denpasar, Bali

The terrorist’s jail time was reduced by one year and 11 months while he was in prison, meaning he would have been eligible for parole in January 2023 after serving two-thirds of his sentence.

However, he has been given special permission to walk free early.

Patek was eventually caught in Pakistan in 2011 - nine years after the attack in Bali.

He had been hiding in Abbottabad, the same town where Al Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden was killed by US special forces.

Forensic police officers and wreckage of a car at scene of the Sari Club nightclub blast in Kuta. Picture: AFP

Patek was a member of Jemaah Islamiyah, an Indonesian terror network linked to Al Qaeda.

After his capture, he was also convicted for playing a part in the bombing of a church in Jakarta, Indonesia, that left 19 dead.

His release from prison is poorly timed with the 20th anniversary of the attack later this year.