'Bali bomber's conviction to boost global anti-terror campaign'

MANILA, Philippines - The 20-year jail sentence on Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) regional terrorist network bomb expert Umar Patek is a boost to the global campaign against terrorism, Malacañang said yesterday.

“That’s a welcome development. Anti-terrorism is a global effort. We are one of the nations fighting terrorism,” deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said over radio dzRB.

Valte said Patek’s conviction was also good news to the families of those they victimized in the Bali bombing.

She backed the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ (AFP) statement that Patek’s conviction strengthened their resolve to go after and stop those involved in terror acts.

The AFP said the jail sentence on Umar Patek might not be enough, but still justice had been served to the families of his terror victims in the region, including those in the Philippines.

The Indonesian court Thursday sentenced Patek to 20 years for various charges ranging from pre-meditated murder and bomb-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.