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Extremist gets 10 years for involvement in Aceh terror group

Source
Agence France Presse - April 27, 2011

An Islamic extremist was jailed for 10 years by an Indonesian court on Wednesday for being part of an "evil conspiracy" involving militants who were plotting attacks in the country.

Abdullah Sunata, 32, was convicted of involvement and helping to organize an Al-Qaeda-inspired group's military training in Aceh province, Sumatra, as well as supplying firearms and money.

Known as Al-Qaeda in Aceh and led by one of the region's most-wanted terror suspects, Dulmatin, the cell was planning to launch Mumbai-style terror attacks.

"The defendant provided assistance for terrorist acts. His acts caused an atmosphere of terror and widespread fear," chief judge Suhartoyo told East Jakarta district court.

Sunata could have faced the death penalty but prosecutors only sought 15 years' jail. By comparison, an Australian was sentenced to 18 years earlier this week for smuggling less than two kilograms (four pounds) of methamphetamines into the Southeast Asian country. Prosecutors had sought 16 years in that case.

Sunata was a well-known convicted terrorist before his latest arrest. He was released from jail in 2009 for good behavior after serving only a fraction of a seven-year sentence for his role in the 2004 Australian embassy bombing which killed 10 people.

After his release he met several times with Dulmatin, a senior figure in regional terror network Jemaah Islamiyah and a ringleader of the 2002 Bali bombings which killed 202 people, mainly Western tourists. Dulmatin was killed by police in March last year after the Aceh group's training camp was discovered.

Wearing a blue navy shirt and white cap, Sunata did not say a word as the judge announced the verdict.

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