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Bali toll revised higher to 202
JAKARTA, Indonesia -- The death toll from the October 12 terrorist bombings on Bali has been revised upwards to 202 following a forensic report. Indonesian police spokesman Lt. Col. Yatim Suyatmo said Tuesday a final report estimated 194 people were killed on Bali, while eight others died of their injuries in hospitals overseas. The revised toll comes as Indonesian police hand over to prosecutors a dossier of evidence against a suspect accused of coordinating the bombings. The 1,046-page dossier charges Ali Ghufron, alias Mukhlas, with planning, financing and carrying out the October 12 attacks, which killed at least 194 people. Mukhlas is one of three brothers arrested in connection with the bombings and is alleged to be the operations chief of Jemaah Islamiyah (JI). "[Mukhlas] was involved in the planning and acted as the coordinating perpetrator. Police conducted the investigation based on facts from the ground and interviews with more than 200 witnesses," Bali police spokesman Yatim Suyatmo told reporters. Mukhlas faces the death penalty if convicted on the terror charges. He is the second person to be charged in relation to the attacks. Last month, prosecutors sent back the dossier of evidence against Amrozi, one of Mukhlas' brothers, who was the first suspect arrested in the wake of the bombings. Police returned the evidence last week. Under Indonesia's legal system, prosecutors often return dossiers they consider incomplete. A case will go to court only if prosecutors believe they have enough evidence to get a conviction. Meanwhile, Australian Prime Minister John Howard has stirred controversy at home by not trying to talk Jakarta out of imposing the death penalty on the Bali bombers. Eighty-eight of those killed in the blasts were Australian. The opposition Labor Party said the death sentence could create more extremist martyrs. Labour's Duncan Kerr said Howard did not bring up the matter during a meeting with Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri in Jakarta last week and the death penalty ran counter to Australia's stance on capital punishment. "I think we have to be very careful and to realize that there are some within our region who are looking for excuses, and the death of those responsible for the Bali terrorist attacks by execution would be seized on," Kerr told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio. The Associated Press & Reuters contributed to this report.
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