Editing 2002 Bali bombings (section)

=== Initial charges and trials ===
In April 2003, Indonesian authorities charged [[Abu Bakar Bashir]] (also rendered "Ba'asyir"), the alleged spiritual leader of Jemaah Islamiyah, with [[treason]]. It was alleged that he tried to overthrow the government and establish an Islamic state. The specific charges against Bashir related to a series of [[Christmas Eve 2000 Indonesia bombings|church bombings]] on Christmas Eve in 2000, and to a plot to bomb United States and other Western interests in [[Singapore]]. He was initially not charged over the Bali attack, although he was frequently accused of being the instigator or inspirer of the attack. On 2 September, Bashir was acquitted of treason but convicted of lesser charges and sentenced to a prison term of four years. He said he would appeal.<ref name="theage.com.au">{{Cite web |last1=Nicholson |first1=Brendan |last2=Forbes |first2=Mark |date=15 June 2006 |title=Bashir's release a cause of great pain: Howard |url=https://www.theage.com.au/national/bashirs-release-a-cause-of-great-pain-howard-20060615-ge2iry.html |access-date=20 March 2023 |website=The Age |language=en}}</ref>

On 15 October 2004, he was arrested by the Indonesian authorities and charged with involvement in another bomb attack, which killed 14 people at the J. W. Marriott hotel in [[Jakarta]] on 5 August 2003. Secondary charges in this indictment accused him of involvement in the Bali bombing, the first time he faced charges in relation to this attack.<ref name="theage.com.au"/>

On 3 March 2005, Bashir was found not guilty of the charges surrounding the 2003 bombing, but guilty of conspiracy over the 2002 attacks in Bali. He was sentenced to two and a half years imprisonment. The Australian, US, and many governments expressed its disappointment that the sentence was too short. In the outcome, Bashir was freed on 14 June 2006 having served less than 26 months for his conspiracy.<ref name="theage.com.au"/> On 21 December 2006, Bashir's conviction was overturned by Indonesia's Supreme Court.

On 30 April 2003, the first charges related to the Bali bombings were made against Amrozi bin Haji Nurhasyim, known as Amrozi, for allegedly buying the explosives and the van used in the bombings. On 8 August, he was found guilty and sentenced to death. Another participant in the bombing, [[Imam Samudra]], was sentenced to death on 10 September. Amrozi's brother, Ali Imron, who had expressed remorse for his part in the bombing, was sentenced to life imprisonment on 18 September. A fourth accused, [[Mukhlas|Ali Ghufron]], the brother-in-law of [[Noordin Mohammed Top]] was sentenced to death on 1 October. Ali Ghufron, alias Mukhlas, told police that he was the head of one of Jemaah Islamiyah's four cells and had ordered the Bali bombings. He also confessed that a fellow leader Riduan Isamuddin, known as Hambali, had provided the funds for the attacks. He told police, <blockquote>''I do not know for sure the source of the aforementioned money from Hambali; most probably it was from [[Afghanistan]], that is, from Sheikh Usama bin Laden. As far as I know, Hambali did not have a source of funds except from Afghanistan.''</blockquote> Another operative, Wan Min bin Wan Mat, revealed to police that he had given Mukhlas money, at Hambali's request and that he understood part of the money had come directly from al-Qaeda.

As noted below, all three were executed on 9 November 2008.
The Australian, US, and many other foreign governments expressed satisfaction with the speed and efficiency with which the Indonesian police and courts dealt with the bombings primary suspects, despite what they characterized as light sentences. All Australian jurisdictions abolished the death penalty more than 30 years ago, but a poll<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.humanrights.gov.au/news/speeches/death-penalty-matter-principle|title=The Death Penalty – a matter of principle|date=14 December 2012|website=www.humanrights.gov.au|language=en|access-date=20 December 2018}}</ref> showed that 77% of Australians approved of the death sentence for Amrozi. The Australian government said it would not ask Indonesia to refrain from using the death penalty.

On 11 August 2003, [[Riduan Isamuddin]], generally known as Hambali, described as the operational chief of [[Jemaah Islamiyah]] was arrested in Ayutthaya, Thailand, the old capital one hour's drive north of [[Bangkok]]. He is in American custody in the [[Guantanamo Bay detention camp]].