Two supreme courts, two directions on terror

Two Supreme Courts, in two different countries, went their separate ways on the matter of terror. And the directions each pursued were in stark contrast to what people would have expected, given the nature of these nations.

First Indonesia. Indonesia is the largest Muslim country in the world. It is also home to Jemaah Islamiyah, the Southeast Asian spawn of al-Qaeda, the most notorious among all Islamic terrorist groups.

In all of Southeast Asia, it is in Indonesia where you can find the most radical of all Muslim groups, whether they be suicide bombers or young student activists just starting on the path to confrontational politics.

Indonesia would hardly seem a likely candidate for strong-arm initiatives against Muslim radicals that thrive on growing anti-Western Islamic passions. Yet, to the surprise of many, its Supreme Court issued a ruling that is sure to reverberate in the global corridors of power.

The Indonesian Supreme Court gave the green light for the execution of three of the so-called Bali bombers responsible for the bomb attack in the resort island of Bali in 2002 that killed more than 200 people, mostly Australians and other Westerners in bars and restaurants.

The three -- Amrozi, Imam Samudra and Ali Ghufron -- whose unrepentant smiles made them among the most hated criminal suspects in this part of the world, had their last pleas for an overturn of their conviction rejected.

On the other side of the globe, in Spain, one of the world's greatest promoters and spreaders of the Christian religion, an entirely different story has taken place. The Spanish Supreme Court has acquitted four of the so-called Madrid bombers, three of them Muslims.

In the early morning hours of March 11 in 2004, a series of explosions rocked a Madrid train station, killing nearly 200 people. A total of 21 terrorists have been taken into custody since then.

But the Spanish Supreme Court last week overturned a lower court decision that sent the terrorists to prison by freeing four of them. Of the four, three -- Basel Ghalyoun, Mohamed Almallah Dabas and Abdelilah El Fadual el Akil -- are Muslim.

On the other hand, a Spaniard named Antonio Toro, who had previously been acquitted of the charge of transporting explosives in connection with the Madrid bombing, had his acquittal reversed and was slapped a four-year prison term.

What is happening here, a lot of people will most likely exclaim. And indeed, what is happening here? Maybe, going out on a limb, it can be said that the supreme courts in these two countries are simply just being their independent selves and should not be judged by biases.

The Indonesian Supreme Court, sitting in the heartland of radical Islamic fundamentalism in Southeast Asia, expected to be sympathetic with its own, surprising everyone by carrying out an independent judgment that would execute three Indonesians hated by outsiders and infidels.

The Spanish Supreme Court, sitting in the heartland of Christian indoctrination, blissfully impervious now to dark past references concerning inquisition, widely expected to be vengeful and condemning, surprising everyone by freeing some of the killers of its own.

One exacting justice where none was expected, the other betraying justice where every ounce of it is the object of a flood of tears. The world exults and yet at the same time grieves. Terror, even in the administration of justice, prevails.