Suspected Bali bomber Amrozi was confronted on Monday by injured victims of the blasts, who testified about their night of terror as bombs ripped two crowded nightspots apart.
A cashier at the Sari Club told Amrozi’s trial how she regained consciousness, surrounded by dead or injured people, in the ruins of the building.
A woman customer at Paddy’s Bar last October 12, who suffered burns all over her body, recounted how she jumped into a swimming pool to ease the agony.
Amrozi, previously dubbed the ”laughing bomber” for his apparent callousness during a televised appearance in custody, displayed no emotion and smiled two or three times during the hearing.
He faces death if convicted of the worst terrorist attack since September 11, 2001 in the United States.
Police say Jemaah Islamiyah launched the attack on ”soft” Western-dominated targets to hit back at perceived injustices to Muslims worldwide. It is believed linked to al-Qaeda.
Of the 202 people killed from 21 countries, 88 were Australians and 38 Indonesians. All those due to testify on Monday are Indonesians.
”I fainted after the blast,” the cashier, Ni Putu Ayu Silaprihana Dewi (22) said.
When she regained consciousness, ”there were many people around but I cannot say whether they were dead or not… they were unconscious, sleeping,” she said.
Dewi herself needed stitches for arm and thigh injuries.
”The Sari Club was devastated,” she said.
Tumini, who was at nearby Paddy’s Bar, was bowled over by the blast and suffered burns all over her body.
”I ran to the back of Paddy’s Club, found a swimming pool and jumped into it,” she said. She was rescued and taken to hospital by an Australian tourist.
She said she could not see clearly in the rubble of Paddy’s because the electricity was cut.
”The only thing in my mind was how to save myself, nothing else,” she told the court when asked what she felt at the time. She said she had no feelings of anger or wish for vengeance.
Kanisius Johardi (26) was riding a motorbike in front of Paddy’s Bar.
”I first heard the blast and when I looked, I saw a blue light coming towards me,” Johardi said. He fainted and woke up in hospital.
Maksimus Wangge (22) Johardi’s nephew who was riding pillion, also lost consciousness.
”I regained consciousness because I felt the heat of the fire. I tried to run away but could not and a caucasian helped me and took me to the hospital,” Wangge said.
He suffered a severed tendon and superficial wounds.
Amrozi, asked about the testimonies, said he understood them but added that ”on the matter of whether they are true, I do not know.”
The court was scheduled to hear another six witnesses.
Amrozi, a village mechanic, is the first of more than 30 suspects to face trial over the terror attack.
He is accused of attending several planning sessions for the bombings, buying a tonne of explosive material and a van to be used in the blast, and sending or taking them to Bali.
Amrozi (40) told Australia’s Channel Nine television last week he was not sorry for the victims.
”How can I feel sorry? I am very happy because they attack Muslims and are inhumane,” he said in an apparent reference to the Western victims.
”You can see from their attitude… they come here, people such as Americans, the Jews and their allies. They want to colonise, not just to play. They want to control Muslim people.” – Sapa-AFP