JAKARTA, Indonesia – An Islamic militant convicted in the 2002 Bali bombings will be released from prison Thursday and 10 other minor figures in the plot are likely to have their sentences reduced to mark Indonesia's independence day, prison and justice ministry officials said.
It is an Indonesian tradition to cut jail terms on holidays, but the decision is expected to anger countries that lost citizens in the twin Bali nightclub attacks that killed 202 people, many of them foreign tourists.
Three militants serving time on Borneo island are slated to receive reductions of four months, paving the way for one, Puryanto, to walk free, said Edi, a prison official who uses a single name.
Eight others in the main prison on Bali island are expected to receive sentence reductions of one to six months, said Anak Agung Mayun Mataram, a justice ministry official.
A total of 33 people were jailed over the 2002 Bali blasts — the most deadly in a string of attacks in Indonesia blamed on the Al Qaeda-linked militant group Jemaah Islamiyah.
Those who will benefit from Thursday's remissions played relatively minor roles in the suicide bombings — from carrying out robberies to finance the attacks to helping shelter the main suspects.
Three militants — Amrozi, Ali Gufron and Imam Samudra — are scheduled to be executed later this month and three others are serving life sentences.
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