Guantanamo detainees freed over part in Bali bombing after testimony agreement

Decades on from the Bali bombing, responsible for more than 200 deaths, terrorists Mohammed Farik Bin Amin and Mohammed Nazir Bin Lep have been freed.

The two freed Malaysian Guantanamo Bay inmates – Mohammed Farik Bin Amin, 48, and Mohammed Nazir Bin Lep, 47. Photo: Twitter / Supplied

Two Malaysian war criminals who have languished in Guantanamo Bay for more than 18 years over their part in the Bali bombing terror attack have been released and repatriated.

Mohammed Farik Bin Amin and Mohammed Nazir Bin Lep were returned to Malaysia on Wednesday, as reported by the New York Times and local Malaysian media, following an exhaustive diplomatic process between US and Malaysian officials that involved an agreement for the two offenders to provide evidence against alleged ringleader Encep Nurjaman.

The conditional release of Bin Lep, 47, and Bin Amin, 49, comes 22 years on from the Bali bombing, which still represents the highest ever toll on Australian lives from a terror attack. It brings the declining population of the CIA Guantanamo Bay detention facility to a mere 27 men. The pair have been in US detention since 2003.

October 12 marked the first commemoration of the terror attack since the disbandment of Indonesian Islamist militant group Jemaah Islamiah, an al-Qaeda affiliate responsible for the attack. On June 30, Jemaah Islamiah voluntarily disbanded after decades of promoting destabilisation.

The decision to demilitarise and largely disband the group was made by sixteen senior members.

Mohammed Nazir Bin Lep. Picture: Supplied

Mohammed Farik Bin Amin. Picture: Wikipedia

The pair’s release has been on the cards since they pleaded guilty in January, with the Pentagon confirming its intent to hand them over to Malaysian officials under the provision they participated in a deradicalisation program.

In a statement to local media, Malaysian Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail confirmed the transfer process.

“The government has constructed a reintegration program that is comprehensive for the two individuals, which includes support services, welfare and medical screenings,” he reportedly said.

“The Ministry also expressed their appreciation to all government agencies that were involved in the successful handing off process of the two Malaysians.”

Mr Nurjaman, better known as Hambali, was an alleged leader of Jemaah Islamiah at the time of the bombing and remains at Guantanamo Bay where he will soon face trial on charges of murder, terrorism and conspiracy. He faces the prospect of life imprisonment.

From 2006 to 2021, Bin Lep, Hambali and Bin Amin were detained pending charges. Both Bin Lep and Bin Amin provided US officials with testimony alleging Hambali orchestrated the attacks, with their role being to help him evade capture.

At 11pm on October 12, 2002 a suicide bomber walked into Paddy’s Pub in Kuta, detonating an explosive in a backpack. The blast drove injured and afraid patrons out onto the street where a second larger car bomb was then set off. 209 people were injured in addition to the more than 200 dead.

A third bomb was later detonated beside Denpasar’s United States consulate.