AFP: Verdict on JI bomber not enough but...

MANILA, Philippines - The 20-year jail sentence on Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) regional terrorist network bomb expert Umar Patek may not be enough, but still justice has been served to the families of his terror victims in the region, including those in the Philippines, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said yesterday.

“While the verdict may not be enough to console the grief suffered by the families of all the victims of Patek’s terroristic activities, still justice has been served,” AFP spokesman Col. Arnulfo Marcelo Burgos Jr. said.

The Indonesian court Thursday sentenced Patek to 20 years for various charges ranging from pre-meditated murder and bombing-making to illegal possession of firearms.

Patek, whose real name is Anis Alawi Jaffar, along with fellow JI bomb expert Dulmatin, has been tagged as the brains behind the 2002 Bali bombings that killed more than 200 people, almost half of them Australian tourists. They later escaped to the Philippines where they linked up with the homegrown Abu Sayyaf and other Muslim militant groups.

“Patek trained the Abu Sayyaf group members in using improvised explosive device (IED) while hiding in the Philippines after the 2002 bombing in Bali, Indonesia,” Burgos said.

Burgos added the verdict on Patek will further strengthen the military’s resolve in protecting the people against all forms of violence and terrorism in the form of continuous and heightened intelligence sharing with other anti-terror forces in the region.

While in the Philippines, Patek coordinated and supervised most terror attacks in Mindanao and in other areas of the country, including Metro Manila.

Becoming high value targets of the government’s all out anti-terror drive, Patek and Dulmatin returned to Indonesia.

Indonesian security forces later killed Dulmatin during an encounter, while Patek was arrested in Abbottabad, Pakistan, the same place where al-Qaeda chieftain Osama bin Laden was killed by US special forces in May last year.

Patek was extradited to Indonesia where Filipino security forces were allowed to interrogate him while awaiting trial on the extent of the JI’s operations in Mindanao.