'Remorseful' Bali bomber sentenced to life in jail

An Indonesian court has sentenced Ali Imron to life in jail for helping to organise and carry out the Bali bombings last year…

An Indonesian court has sentenced Ali Imron to life in jail for helping to organise and carry out the Bali bombings last year that killed 202 people.

The sentence was tougher than the 20 years prosecutors had sought.

Ali Imron is led into court this morning

The charges against Imron carried a maximum penalty of death by firing squad, but prosecutors asked for a 20-year sentence, noting that he has expressed sorrow his actions killed innocent people and has urged family and supporters not to imitate him.

Judges accepted the prosecution's case that Imron helped make the bombs, helped deliver a bomb-laden car to the targeted nightclubs and planted another bomb near the US consulate general in Denpasar.

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The Bali blasts on October 12th, 2002 killed 202 people, mostly foreign tourists partying at Sari Club and Paddy's Bar at the famed Kuta beachstrip which were frequented by Westerners.

Judges in earlier cases sent two men to death row on charges similar to those against Imron, but they had showed neither remorse nor his cooperative attitude.

Another key Bali bombing suspect on trial, Mukhlas, will hear his verdict on October 2nd. Prosecutors have asked for death for Mukhlas, Imron's older brother, who police say is a senior leader of the Jemaah Islamiah Muslim group.

Police and prosecutors have said the Bali attacks were the work of Jemaah Islamiah, an al Qaeda-linked Southeast Asian militant network accused of plotting violence across the region.