Formal charges have been filed by US military prosecutors against Indonesian Islamic extremist and two others for the accusation of involvement in the 2002 Bali bombings and 2003 Jakarta attack, Pentagon said.
The three indicted people were taken in custody nearly 18 years ago in Thailand and have spent over 14 years in the ‘infamous’ US military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
One of the people charged, Riduan Isamuddin, is known to be the leader of Jeemah Islamiyah, an Indonesian Jihadist group and is suspected to be a representative of Al-Qaeda in the region. He is also known by his alias, Hambali.
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The group, with support from Al-Qaeda, carried out bombings of tourist nightclubs on Bali on October 12, 2002 that killed 202, and the August 5, 2003 attack on the JW Marriott hotel in Jakarta that left 12 dead and scores injured, reported AFP.
According to documents released by the Guantanamo Bay prison, Mohammed Farik Bin Amin and Mohammed Nazir Bin Lep were known aides of Hambali and members of his extremist organisation based in Indonesia.
The Department of Defense said in a statement, “The charges include conspiracy, murder, attempted murder, intentionally causing serious bodily injury, terrorism, attacking civilians, attacking civilian objects, destruction of property, and accessory after the fact, all in violation of the law of war.”
Hambali, who attempted to be released from the federal prison in Cuba but got his request rejected, is still considered to be a “significant threat to the security of the United States”.
Former US President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden, attempted to shut down the prison in Guantanamo Bay after it attracted huge condemnation, either got the criminals tried in US civilian courts or released them, reported AFP.
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However, Donald Trump did not demonstrate any interest in the activities at Guantanamo Bay, which holds criminals like Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who planned the 9/11 attacks for Al-Qaeda.
At its peak around 780 “war on terror” detainees were held at the camp. Most have been released back to their countries.
