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Malaysians Linked To 2002 Bali Bombings Return From Guantanamo Bay

Malaysians Linked To 2002 Bali Bombings Return From Guantanamo Bay

IGP Razarudin Husain said the pair will undergo a “comprehensive rehabilitation” before reintegrating into society.

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Two Malaysians involved in the 2002 Bali bombings have been returned home after being held at the United States military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, for 18 years.

According to Bernama, Inspector General of Police Razarudin Husain said Mohamed Farik bin Amin and Mohammed Nazir bin Lep arrived back in Malaysia on Wednesday (18 December) “in good and healthy condition”, and were happy to reunite with their families.

Farik Amin (left) and Nazir Lep (right).

Both will undergo “comprehensive rehabilitation” and an assessment process before reintegrating into society, Razarudin said.

The pair had previously pleaded guilty to charges related to the Bali bombing in 2002 that killed more than 200 people.

According to Al-Jazeera, the Pentagon said the detainees had been cooperative and provided testimony against the alleged mastermind behind the Bali bombing, Encep Nurjaman, who is also known by the nom de guerre Hambali.

Encep remains in custody in Guantanamo awating resumption of pre-trial hearings in January related to the Bali attack, and the bombing of a hotel in Jakarta in 2003.

Bali bombings

Aftermath of the 2002 Bali bombings. (Image: SCMP)

The 2002 Bali bombings was a series of coordinated terrorist attacks that took place on 12 October, 2002, in the Kuta district of Bali, Indonesia. The bombings were among the deadliest terrorist attacks in the history of Southeast Asia.

The attacks involved three main bomb explosions which targeted two night clubs – Paddy’s Pub and Sari Club – located in the heart of the Kuta nightlife district.

Members of the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) terrorist group, a radical Islamist organisation with links to Al-Qaeda, carried out these attacks that were designed to strike at Western targets.

According to an Al-Jazeera interview with former JI member Umar Patek, the motive of the attacks were an act of revenge for the occupation of Palestine and an attack on the Jenin refugee camp by Israeli forces in the same year.

Umar was arrested in January 2011 and charged in June 2012 for his role in producing the bombs for the Bali bomb attacks, which took the lives of more than 200 people.

Jemaah Islamiyah

Al-Qaeda soldiers – for illustration purposes. (Image: Worldview)

Encep, Farik, and Nazir were all members of JI, with Encep being its military leader at the time.

JI was formed in the early 90s with a mission to establish an Islamic State covering south Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Brunei, and southern Philippines.

The Al-Qaeda-linked organisation was founded in 1993 by Abu Bakar Bashir and Abdullah Sungkar, who are both from Indonesia.

It’s believed that their members were trained in Afghanistan and south Philippines, and began their attacks in 1999.

The existence of their network was detected at the end of 2001 after Singaporean authorities thwarted a cell that was planning to attack a target linked to the United States Navy.

Since 2002, governments in Southeast Asia have worked diligently to address the JI threat through security cooperations, arrests of their members, and deradicalization efforts.


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