2 M’sian brothers arrive in Cuba to testify for sibling in Malaysian duo's terror trial
Published on: Thursday, January 25, 2024
By:
FMT, K Parkaran
.%5B3%5D.jpg "2 M’sian brothers arrive in Cuba to testify for sibling in Malaysian duo's terror trial")
Guantanamo Bay detainees Nazir Lep (left) and Farik Amin were arrested in Thailand in 2003.
PETALING JAYA: Two brothers of one of the two Malaysians facing sentencing for their role in the Bali bombing in 2002 have arrived at the US military court in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to testify for him in front of an eight-man jury that will decide on the penalty.
Faizal Amin and his brother Fadil, whose visa issues were resolved by the US embassy in Kuala Lumpur after a delay, are expected to testify later tonight (early Thursday morning, Malaysian time) for their brother Farik, 48, according to one of the lawyers, Brian Bouffard.
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Bouffard told FMT that this was among the terms agreed to in a pre-trial deal between the two accused and the US government, which also includes a pact to send them to a third country after they are sentenced.
However, there was no mention of when this would take place.
Last week, Farik, together with Nazir Lep, 46, pleaded guilty to conspiring in the terrorism-linked bomb attacks in Bali that killed 202 people.
As the sentencing phase of the trial entered its first day, presiding judge Wesley A Braun of the US Air Force oversaw proceedings to select a jury of eight military officers to deliberate on the sentencing of the two men.
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Last week, the court was told that the jury could sentence them to a period of between 20 and 25 years under the agreement but they were not bound by any recommendation by the judge.
According to a report in a news portal, Farik broke into a smile when he caught sight of his brothers in the courtroom. They were separated by a glass encasing in the courtroom.
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Farik’s lawyer Christine Funk told the court that her team would be presenting 25 pieces of evidence, including his five-page statement, pictures and a series of character statements from people close to him.
Prosecutors said that they planned to call 11 witnesses to make victim impact statements along with written statements from some of them.
The two were initially charged in 2018 together with Indonesian Encep Nurjaman, also known as Hambali, who is the alleged mastermind behind the bombing.
The charges were linked to the 2002 bombings of nightclubs in Bali, which killed 202 people, and the 2003 Marriott hotel bombing in Jakarta which led to 11 deaths.
Their pleas last week, however, made no mention of any link to the 2003 bombing in Jakarta.
As part of the plea agreement, charges of terrorism, assault on civilians and civilian structures, as well as attempted murder were dropped by the prosecutors.
With this turn of events, Farik and Nazir are also required to submit to interviews, depositions, and testimony, and participate in various proceedings or hearings with accurate information against Hambali.
All three have been in solitary confinement since their arrest in Thailand in 2003.
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