Bali, Indonesia - Three Indonesian Muslim militants on death row for their roles in the 2002 Bali nightclub bombings have filed a third judicial review appeal to have their death sentences overturned, the head of Bali island's district court said Wednesday. The three militants - Imam Samudra, Mukhlas, alias Ali Ghufron, and Amrozi - face death by firing squad for their roles in the 2002 bombings of two nightspots on the Indonesian tourist resort of Bali that killed 202 people, mostly foreign tourists.
I Nyoman Gede Wirya, chief of the Bali's Denpasar district court, said his office had received another judicial review request - the third appeal - from the three on Tuesday which were sent via ordinary mail.
The three in late April submitted review documents to the prison head and asked for these to be given to the Cilacap district court, close to the Nusakambangan Island's maximum-security prison, located off the southern coast of central Java, known as "Indonesia's Alcatraz."
Wirya said he decided not to form a panel of judges to handle the review case, "but I will send the documents, along with other legal considerations, to the Indonesian Supreme Court for a final decision."
A judicial review is the final level of appeal in Indonesia and generally requires that new evidence be submitted.
Imam Samudra, Mukhlas and the so-called smiling assassin Amrozi were alleged members of Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), a regional terrorist network responsible for several bombings across Indonesia in recent years.
None of the bombers have shown any remorse over the attacks. The three have repeatedly told the media they are ready to die as martyrs, and refuse to use their right to ask for a clemency from Indonesia's president.
Amrozi was remarried on Monday to his ex-wife, whom he had divorced several years ago, but he was not present at the wedding. Instead, his half brother, Ali Fauzi, took the vows on his behalf in a small village in East Java province.
Indonesia's Supreme Court turned down the three men's final appeal in March 2004, and rejected a similar request for a case review last year.
Lawyers for the three withdrew from their final legal appeal being heard in Bali's Denpasar district court in March after judges rejected a request to allow them to appear to testify, or to have the appeal held in Cilacap district court, closer to their island prison.
The attorney-general's office last month said it was moving ahead with plans to execute the three, but the latest legal attempt could delay or prevent their execution.
Jemaah Islamiyah is blamed for several simultaneous church bombings across Indonesia on Christmas Eve 2000, bombings on Bali in 2002 and 2005, the bombing of a JW Marriott hotel in Jakarta in 2004 and an attack on the Australian Embassy in 2005.
Indonesian police have arrested around 400 militants since 2002, severely damaging JI's ability to operate.
