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Pemberitaan mengenai Ketua Komisi Pemberantasan Korupsi (KPK) nonaktif Antasari Azhar yang menjadi tersangka dalam kasus dugaan pembunuhan Direktur PT Putra Rajawali Banjaran (PBR) dalam waktu sepekan terakhir selalu ditempatkan di halam muka media cetak.

Demikian pula dalam pemberitaan di media elektronik. Bahkan salah satu televisi swasta nasional membuat logo khusus dalam penayangan pemberitaan kasus yang menimpa orang yang dikenal sebagai "pendekar pemberantas korupsi" tersebut.

Pada sisi lain, muncul sejumlah keluhan yang, antara lain, menyebut bahwa pemberitaan kasus itu mengarah pada pembunuhan karakter orang yang selama ini memiliki prestasi sangat dalam mengungkap praktik korupsi di tanah air.

Maraknya berita soal Antasari bisa disebut dimulai ketika sejumlah wartawan mendapat sms dari nomor tidak dikenal yang isinya: Ass.ww ibu negara yth. pelaku penembakan Nasrudin Direktur anak perusahaan RNI telah ditangkap dan mengaku dibayar Antasari, mohon pemerintah segera mengumumkan dan segera menangkap Ketua KPK.

Pesan singkat itu diterima wartawan pada Kamis (30/4). Esok harinya, pemberitaan soal itu mulai menghiasi media massa, tanpa kecuali.

Media massa, pada hari pertama berita besar itu beredar mendapat "umpan" baru, yaitu ketika Kejaksaan Agung mengumumkan kepada pers mengenai status Antasari Azhar yang menjadi tersangka dalam kasus itu. Disebutkan, status itu diperoleh dari surat Badan Reserse dan Kriminal Polri.

Saat itu, Kepala Pusat Penerangan Hukum Kejaksaan Agung Jasman Pandjaitan menyebutkan, surat dari Mabes Polri itu bersifat rahasia. Sejumlah wartawan "berkasak-kusuk" mengenai surat rahasia yang isinya diumumkan secara terbuka tersebut.

Surat itu oleh Kejaksaan dijadikan dasar untuk melakukan pencekalan terhadap Antasari Azhar.

Biasanya, pengumuman status tersangka merupakan kewenangan dari kepolisian. Bagi wartawan yang biasa meliput kasus hukum, ini merupakan keanehan kedua setelah sms dari orang tidak dikenal.

Menurut peneliti Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW), Febri Diansyah, pengumuman penetapan sebagai tersangka itu merupakan kewenangan penyidik, yaitu polisi.

Sebelum pengumuman itu, sejumlah petinggi Mabes Polri datang ke kantor Jaksa Agung Hendarman Supandji, Jumat (1/5) pagi.

Tapi, semua pejabat kejaksaan melakukan gerakan tutup mulut saat ditanya mengenai pertemuan tersebut.

Kejaksaan juga tutup mulut ketika wartawan bertanya dasar hukum atau pun alasan yang membuat korps penuntut itu mendahului polisi dalam hal penetapan status tersangka kepada Antasari.

Pada pengumuman Jumat itu, Jasman Pandjaitan menyatakan, penyidik Polri saat itu sudah melakukan penyidikan terhadap pembunuhan berencana Nasrudin yang terjadi di Tangerang pada 14 Maret 2009. Dalam pengumuman itu juga disebutkan nama AA sebagai aktor intelektual pembunuhan tersebut.

Ketika wartawan merasakan suasana kehati-hatian Polri dalam kasus ini, isu terus berkembang dengan bahan baru yang menyebutkan adanya kasus asmara yang melatarbelakangi pembunuhan tersebut.

Muncul nama Rhani Juliani, gadis pendamping (caddy) di Lapangan Golf Modernland, Tangerang, yang disebut-sebut memiliki kaitan dengan Antasari dan Nasrudin.

Akhirnya kepolisian pada Senin (4/5) atau tiga hari setelah pengumuman di Kejaksaan Agung, menetapkan status Antasari Azhar sebagai tersangka.

Namun, tidak ada keterangan mengenai motif motif dari pembunuhan itu.

Pengumuman itu dilakukan pada siang hari, setelah pada pagi harinya polisi memeriksa Antasari.

Antasari Azhar pun harus ditahan di Rumah Tahanan Narkoba Polda Metro Jaya. Dia diancam hukuman pidana seumur hidup karena dikenai Pasal 340 KUHP mengenai pembunuhan berencana.

Pemberitaan soal Antasari Azhar terus membesar.

Bantah pertemuan

Sementara itu, Jaksa Agung Hendarman Supandji membantah adanya pertemuan khusus menjelang penahanan Ketua Komisi Pemberantasan Korupsi (KPK) Antasari Azhar.

"Enggak," katanya ketika dikonfirmasi ada tidaknya pertemuan khusus itu. Dia hanya menjawab singkat seperti itu ketika ditemui seusai mengikuti Rapat Koordinasi Penanganan Perkara Perselisihan Hasil Pemilu di Gedung Mahkamah Konstitusi (MK), Jakarta, Kamis.

Yang dibantah itu menyebutkan, sebelum penahanan terhadap Antasari, sempat digelar pertemuan dengan sejumlah pihak terkait kasus dugaan pembunuhan terhadap Direktur PT Putra Rajawali Banjaran (PRB) Nasrudin Zulkarnaen.

Jaksa Agung kemudian menyatakan, kejaksaan sudah menerima Surat Perintah Dimulainya Penyidikan (SPDP) dari pihak kepolisian.

"Saya hanya menerima surat pemberitahuan dimulainya penyidikan. Karena locus delictie (tempat kejadian) perkara itu ada di wilayah Kejati Banten, maka saya minta untuk ditunjuk jaksa pada Kejati Banten," katanya.

Ketika ditanya wartawan mengenai sikap kejaksaan yang mengumumkan Antasari Azhar sebagai tersangka mendahului pernyataan kepolisian sebagai bentuk rivalitas dengan KPK, Jaksa Agung menjawabnya, "kalau membalas, itu kan dipukul lalu membalas mukul, ini tidak ada," katanya.

Ia juga menyatakan, pengumuman kejaksaan mengenai status Antasari Azhar sebagai tersangka dalam kasus pembunuhan itu karena ditanya wartawan.

Keterangan Jaksa Agung itu bertentangan dengan fakta jumpa pers pada Jumat (1/5). Ketika itu, nama AA yang disebut sebagai aktor intelektual keluar dari mulut Kepala Pusat Penerangan Hukum Kejaksaan Agung Jasman Pandjaitan.

Saat itu, Jasman sedang mengumumkan surat rahasia Polri yang diterima Kejaksaan Agung. Jadi bukan pada saat tanya jawab dengan wartawan.

Pengacara Juniver Girsang SH, yang menjadi para pembela Antasari Azhar, mengatakan, ada skenario besar di balik kasus pembunuhan Nasarudin Zulkarnain.

"Ada pihak lain yang ingin mengarahkan agar Antasari jadi tersangka," kata Jurniver Girsang.

Dia mengatakan, pemberitaan tentang Antasari menyangkut kasus pembunuhan Nasarudin itu dianggap berlebihan sehingga terkadang mendahului penyidik dan ada pula yang menyebutkan Antasari menjadi tersangka.

Menurut Girsang, tidak tertutup kemungkinan dalam kasus tersebut Antasari diarahkan sebagai tersangka karena ia sering mengungkap kasus korupsi dengan skala besar.

Kuasa hukum Ari Yusuf Amir menyesalkan sikap kejaksaan yang mengumumkan status kliennya sebagai tersangka.

"Kita menyesalkan sikap kejaksaan, karena itu bukan kewenangannya," katanya kepada ANTARA News.

Ia mengatakan, sikap kejaksaan itu terlalu cepat menyimpulkan.

Masyarakat curiga

Penetapan status tersangka kepada Antasari Azhar itu juga menjadi tanda tanya dari anggota masyarakat.

"Saya tidak percaya dengan tuduhan terhadap Antasari Azhar, dia kan sedang gigihnya melawan korupsi. Tentunya dia banyak musuhnya," kata salah seorang warga yang sengaja datang ke Polda Metro Jaya saat menjelang pemeriksaan terhadap Antasari Azhar.

Keluarga Antasari Azhar juga menyatakan ketidakpercayaan atas tuduhan itu.

"Saya yakin seratus persen, tidak mungkin Antasari Azhar berbuat sebodoh itu," kata Ariman Azhar, kakak kandung Antasari Azhar.

Ia menjelaskan adik kandungnya itu memiliki dua anak perempuan, yang sudah menjadi dokter hingga tidak mungkin melakukan tindakan seperti itu.

Ketika ditanya apakah dalam kasus itu, adik kandungnya menjadi korban konspirasi, dia menjawab "No comment".

Hal senada dikatakan rekan Antasari Azhar bernama Yuniar. Rekan ketika saat sama-sama mengambil program S2, Yuniar yang mengatakan dirinya tidak percaya dengan yang disangkakan terhadap rekannya tersebut.

"Saya tidak percaya. Ini ada konspirasi. Apalagi dia jadi Ketua KPK banyak kasus korupsi yang ditangani. Saya tahu pribadi dia," kata rekan kuliah S2 Antasari itu. (*)

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Jakarta (ANTARA News) - House of Representatives (DPR) Speaker Agung Laksono said he was waiting for a letter from President Susilo Bambang Yudhohono on the suspension of Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) chairman Antasari Azhar.

The House speaker made the statement after Antasari was officially named a suspect in the murder of businessman Nasrudin Zulkarnaen, director of PT Putra Rajawali Banjaran.

Nasrudin was shot twice in the head by two men on a Yamaha Scorpio motorcycle after playing at the Modernland Golf Course in Tangerang, Banten, on March 14, 2009.

"If I receive the letter from President Yudhoyono today, I will immediately communicate with the leader of House Commission-III," Laksono told the press at the Parliament building.

But Laksono added that so far he had yet to receive any letter from the president on the suspension of Antasari as KPK chairman.

The House speaker said the government could at present either propose a new name to replace Antasari as KPK chief or leave it void until after a further decision was made.

"But in my opinion, the membership of KPK should be completed and to find a new leader in order to maintain its performance," Laksono said.

Asked about a possible conspiracy behind the arrest of Antasari, Laksono said the law enforcing institutions were now more professional in handling criminal cases.

"Therefore, I do not believe the case is not a scenario," Laksono said, adding that the cost was too high because it had something to do with the image of a state institution in international eye.

Earlier, on Tuesday, the House speaker said President Yudhoyono should prepare a substitute for Antasari Azhar after the latter was officially named as suspect in the murder of Nasruddin Zulkarnaen.

"If the president later dismisses Antasari from the KPK chairmanship, it should be accompanied by a proposal on his replacement," Laksono said on Tuesday. (*)

Source

Jakarta - Caddy di Padang Golf Modernland Tangerang, Rhani Juliani yang disebut-sebut sebagai istri ketiga Direktur PT Putra Rajawali Banjaran (PBR), Nasrudin Zulkarnaen, melayani para jaksa yang bermain golf termasuk Antasari Azhar.

"Caddy di Modernland melayani jaksa yang bermain golf di sana, termasuk Antasari Azhar," kata kuasa hukum Ketua Komisi Pemberantasan Korupsi (KPK) Non Aktif, Antasari Azhar, M Assegaf, seusai mendampingi pemeriksaan kliennya di Rumah Tahanan (Rutan) Narkoba Polda Metro Jaya, Jakarta, Rabu (6/5) malam.

Kemudian, kata dia, sejak Antasari Azhar menjadi anggota KPK, tidak bermain golf kembali di Modernland, sedangkan Rhani Juliani sendiri berhenti menjadi caddy melanjutkan kuliahnya.

Dikatakan, selanjutnya Rhani Juliani menjadi marketing yang menawarkan kepada Antasari Azhar untuk menjadi member golf di Modernland kembali.

"Rhani Juliani minta Antasari Azhar untuk memperpanjang sebagai anggota (modernland)," katanya.

Dalam penawaran tersebut, Rhani Juliani mengirimkan pesan singkat (SMS) melalui telepon seluler (HP) kepada Antasari Azhar, termasuk menerima juga SMS dari Direktur PT PBR, Nasrudin Zulkarnaen yang menyebutkan kasus-kasus korupsi.

Kemudian, kata dia, Antasari Azhar menyuruh keduanya untuk bertemu di Hotel Grand Mahakam, Jakarta Selatan, karena dirinya juga tengah menunggu ustadz atau gurunya.

"Antasari Azhar (di Hotel Grand Mahakam) tengah menunggu gurunya," katanya.

Sebelumnya dilaporkan, Direktur PT Putra Rajawali Banjaran (PRB), Nasrudin Zulkarnaen, menyerahkan berkas korupsi di BUMN kepada Antasari Azhar, di Hotel Grand Mahakam, Jakarta Selatan.

Demikian dikatakan kuasa hukum Antasari Azhar, Juniver Girsang, seusai mengikuti pemeriksaan terhadap kliennya itu di Rumah Tahanan (Rutan) Narkoba Polda Metro Jaya, Rabu.

"Pertemuan di Grand Mahakam, menyerahkan dokumen yang ada informasi dengan dugaan korupsi di BUMN," katanya.

Saat ditanya korupsi BUMN itu soal RNI atau impor gula, ia enggan menjawabnya.

Seperti diketahui, Nasrudin Zulkarnaen menjadi korban penembakan, setelah dirinya bermain golf di Modern Land pada 14 Maret 2009.

Dalam kasus itu, Polda Metro Jaya menetapkan sembilan orang tersangka, diantaranya, mantan Kapolres Jakarta Selatan, Kombes Pol Wiliardi Wizard, Antasari Azhar dan bos salah satu surat kabar, Sigid Haryo Wibisono.

Pihak Polda Metro Jaya sendiri sampai sekarang belum menjelaskan motif perbuatan Antasari Azhar hingga harus ditetapkan sebagai tersangka.(*)

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An Indian court sentenced a 75-year-old doctor to jail for accepting half a dollar as a bribe nearly a quarter of a century ago, officials said Wednesday.

India's federal police caught Balgovind Prasad accepting 25 rupees (51 cents) from a sweeper in 1985 for issuing a fake medical certificate, police said.

The case dragged on for years and Prasad was convicted in 1992 and given a one-year jail term. He was freed as he appealed the sentence.

Tuesday, a higher court in India's eastern state of Bihar state reduced the one-year term to three months, saying the bribe amount was too small, but directed the police to take Prasad into custody as he was guilty of the crime.

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New Zealand police have arrested a safe burglar by using the popular social networking website Facebook to identify and track him down.

Queenstown police in southern New Zealand posted security-camera footage and pictures showing the man's face as he tried to break into the safe of a local tavern on Monday.

"The offender was identified after a movie and images of him were displayed on Facebook. He was identified from members of the public viewing him on Facebook and also seeing him on TV after the Facebook images were displayed on the news," the police station said in a statement on its Facebook page.

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The trial of Muntazer al-Zaidi, the Iraqi man who threw his shoes at US President George W. Bush, will start on Wednesday, his judge investigating his case told AFP Monday.

"The investigations phase is over, and a new step has started, which is transferring the case to the Central Criminal Court of Iraq and the trial will start on Wednesday.

"It will take place in the same court, in the presence of the media," Muntazer's investigating judge Dhiya al-Kenani said.

"We didn't change Muntazer's charges after the investigations phase," he added.

Source

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Armed robbers stole gems worth 85 million euros ($108 million) from luxury jewelers in the heart of Paris, during a raid described by French media Friday as the most lucrative heist in France's history.

The Harry Winston chain, long a favorite among the world's rich and famous, once provided jewels to the Shah of Iran for his wedding and to Richard Burton for his wife Elizabeth Taylor.

A spokeswoman at the Paris prosecutors' office said the Harry Winston store, located just off the Champs Elysees on an avenue of luxury outlets, had declared 85 million euros' worth of losses to its insurers after Thursday's hold-up.

"These are experienced bandits. They got through the main door without drawing attention to themselves. In less than 20 minutes they got up to the first floor, emptied the safes and the display cases and left through the door," she said.

A police spokesman said the gang of four men, one or two of them disguised as women, threatened customers and pistol-whipped some of the staff. They appeared very well-prepared.

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A cigarette maker and a smoker's widow squared off at the Supreme Court on Wednesday for the third time over a $79.5 million punitive damages award, but the real battle was between the justices and their counterparts on Oregon's high court.

Twice before, the Supreme Court has struck down the judgment against Altria Group Inc.'s Philip Morris USA and ordered the Oregon court to take another look at the case. Each time, the Oregon high court has upheld the award to Mayola Williams, the widow of a longtime smoker of Philip Morris' Marlboro brand.

In its latest appeal, Philip Morris contended the Oregon judges were essentially thumbing their noses at the Supreme Court. "We're here today because the Oregon court failed to follow this court's decision," Philip Morris' lawyer, Stephen Shapiro, told the justices.

Justice Stephen Breyer, who sided with Philip Morris in its last round, was more skeptical of the cigarette maker's arguments Wednesday.

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Throngs of Orthodox mourners packed the funerals Tuesday of six Jews killed in the Mumbai attacks, turning the narrow alleys of one Jerusalem neighborhood into a sea of black coats and hats.

The six died after gunmen struck the Chabad House, the Mumbai headquarters of the Orthodox Lubavitch movement, last Wednesday. Four Israelis, an American Jew and a Mexican woman were among 172 killed in the three-day attack across India's financial capital.

A huge crowd gathered Tuesday outside the red-brick Israeli headquarters of the Chabad movement, whose emissary to Mumbai, Rabbi Gavriel Noach Holtzberg, 29, was murdered along with his 28-year-old wife, Rivkah. Their bodies — hers wrapped in a shroud, his in a prayer shawl — were laid out on a dais outside. They were later taken to Jerusalem for burial, accompanied by thousands of mourners.

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Masked Indian commandos dropped from helicopters Friday onto the roof of a Jewish center where suspected Muslim militants were holed up, possibly with hostages, as sharpshooters kept up a steady stream of fire at the five-story building.

The assault came as commandos freed several dozen captives — including one clutching a baby_ from the nearby Oberoi hotel as they searched the building for attackers, on the third day since a chain of militant attacks across India's financial capital left at least 119 people dead.

Security officials insisted their operations were almost over.

"It's just a matter of a few hours that we'll be able to wrap up things," Lt. Gen. N. Thamburaj told reporters.

But less than an hour later, two loud explosions and gunfire rang out at the luxury Taj Mahal hotel, which, on Thursday night, authorities had insisted was cleared of gunmen.

The commando attack on the center run by the ultra-orthodox Jewish outreach group Chabad Lubavitch was punctuated by gunshots and explosions from within the building as forces cleared it floor by floor, according to an Associated Press reporter at the scene.

One camouflaged commando came out with a bandage on his forehead, while soldiers fired smoke grenades into the building and a steady stream of gunshots reverberated across the narrow alleys.

Hundreds of onlookers, many with binoculars, crowded onto roofs and in narrow alleys of south Mumbai, trying to catch a glimpse of the dramatic commando assault.

It was not immediately clear if there were hostages in the building or their fate.

At the Oberoi hotel, groups of captives were rushed out and loaded into waiting cars, buses and ambulances.

Among those released were a group of about 20 airline crew members, almost all Westerners.

Several of the rescued airline staff were in Lufthansa and Air France uniforms.

South African state radio reported that seven South African crew members had also been released from the Oberoi. Lufthansa said that all its seven crew members inside have now been rescued.

Among the others rescued from the hotel several clutched passports, including at least two Americans, a Briton, two Japanese nationals and several Indians.

Some carried luggage with Canadian flags, and two women were dressed in black abayas, traditional Muslim women's garments. The group included one man dressed in chef's uniform who was holding a small baby.

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East Java police deployed personnels to Lamongan hometown of the two executed Bali bombers, Amrozi Nurhasyim and Ali Ghufron early on Sunday as hundreds of people in support of the Bali bombers are arriving in the East Java regency to pay their respect to the bombers.

Abu Bakar Ba'asyir a 68 year-old cleric, having served a 26 months jail term for “evil conspiracy” after Bali bombing and JW Marriott Hotel bombing in Jakarta was planned to lead prayer at the two bombers' burial. The two were Abu Bakar's students in Al Mukmin Islamic School in Surakarta Central Java.

Beside supporters living nearby the regency, hundreds are planned to arrive from other towns ahead of the burial of the two bombers. Amrozi, 46 and Ali 48 are siblings born to a family of 13 children, another brother of Amrozi, Ali Imron was also involved in the 2002 Bali bombing. They were to be buried in their home village in Tenggulun, and police reportedly to ban supporters of the bombers to attend the burial.

Imam Samudra whose parents live in the Banten province town of Serang is planned to be buried in Lopang Gede village next to his father's grave. Police to also restrict civilians to attend the burial. Imam is the youngest among the three bombers at 38.

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Arwa is the youngest of three Yemeni girls who recently went to court complaining they were married against their will and asking for divorce - an astonishing display of defiance that has prompted the government to review its law on early marriage.

The child's dark eyes shine from a pale face framed by her black headscarf. Her expression is eloquent yet she struggles to find words for what she's suffered. Earlier this year, her father announced she was to be married, ignoring her tears of protest. She knows nothing of wealth and power but, in her own way, she has helped make history.

Earlier this year, her father announced she was to be married, ignoring her tears of protest. She claims to have forgotten her husband's name and all she will say about him is that he seemed tall and old.

Yemen's Minister for Social Affairs, Professor Amat al-Razzak Hammed, recognises that the government needs to compromise and would personally opt for a legal age of 16. She emphasises the importance of a legal framework enabling courts to punish fathers who marry their children off early and officials who sign the marriage contracts, and says the government has consulted Islamic scholars to ensure that it can be done in accordance with Sharia.

At her home in Jibla, Arwa is putting the past behind her and returning to childish games of hide and seek in the narrow passageways near her home. But, without a firm lead from government, her father Abdul Ali may be tempted a second time to take money for his daughter's hand in marriage, curtailing her childhood once and for all.

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Berlin (ANTARA News) - German prosecutors have opened an investigation into allegations that the country's richest woman, Susanne Klatten, was blackmailed for millions of euros by an ex-lover, a spokesman and media said Sunday.

"We have been carrying out an investigation for several months," Christian Schmidt-Sommerfeld, a spokesman for Munich prosecutors, told AFP.
Italian authorities also opened an inquiry, he said.

Klatten, who holds a large stake in automaker BMW and Altana specialty chemical company, allegedly paid 7.5 million euros to a Swiss Helg Sgarbi to stop him from publishing compromising photos and videos of the couple's relationship, the German tabloid Bild am Sonntag reported.

The 41-year-old suspect was taken into custody by German authorities some weeks ago, Schmidt-Sommerfeld said.

The heiress to the Quandt family fortune and mother of three children "filed a complaint for fraud and blackmail in January 2008 with a Munich court," he added.

Schmidt-Sommerfeld said that Sgarbi started blackmailing Klatten from August 2007 when he asked for a loan of several million euros, before demanding a much higher "ransom" for the footage -- as much as 40 million euros, according to German media reports.

Italian media allege that Sgarbi and Klatten met in a Munich hotel, while a 63-year-old Italian man filmed the couple having sex from a next-door bedroom.

Klatten has a personal fortune of 7.8 billion euros, according to German's Manager Magazin.

As yet no photos or videos have been released.

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Sydney (ANTARA News) - The Bali bombers' Australian victims were Monday torn on whether the men should face the firing squad, with some opposing the death penalty and others wanting to "pull the trigger," reports said.

The impending executions of Amrozi, 47, Mukhlas, 48, and Imam Samudra, 38, have stirred strong emotions in Australia, home to 88 of the 202 killed in the attacks on the popular Bali nightclub strip in 2002.

Brian Deegan, a former magistrate who lost his 22-year-old son Josh in the attacks, is opposed to the death penalty, despite acknowledging the relief it could bring to some.

"People are being put to death, which I absolutely deplore," he was quoted by AFP as telling The Australian.

His views were echoed by Gayle Dunn, whose 18-year-old son Craig died in the bombings on nightclubs packed with Western tourists, among the worst terror acts since the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States.

"I just think they're getting what they wanted," she told The Sydney Morning Herald. "They're just going to become martyrs."

Tracey Ball, who was seriously burned in the bombings, said there was no denying she would feel relief when the Islamic militants were finally executed, but that the issue of the death penalty troubled her.

"Prior to the Bali bombings, I don't think I would have ever believed in the death penalty... but since having someone... try to kill me for absolutely no personal reason, it does change the way you think and feel.

"I've struggled with how I've felt. If I was offered to pull the trigger, would I do it? Sometimes yes, sometimes no," she told The Australian.

But Kevin Paltridge, whose son Corey died in the blasts, was clear.

"I'd like to pull the trigger," he told the paper.

The issue has also posed questions for the Australian government, which publicly denounces the death penalty but has said that justice has been served in the bombers' case.

Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said last week that Canberra would continue to plead for the lives of Australians on death row in foreign prisons.

But he added: "We don't make representations on behalf of nationals of other countries, and we certainly don't make representations on behalf of terrorists."

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British police say they found a naked burglary suspect trapped in the chimney of a supermarket in the northern English town of Pemberton.

Greater Manchester Police say officers found the 22-year-old man at around 5:30 a.m. (0430 GMT) on Wednesday. The fire service was called to help extricate him.

A spokesman for the police says he "has no idea" how the man got into the chimney. He says that some of the man's clothes may have come off as he struggled to escape.

He spoke on condition of anonymity in line with force policy.

Police say the suspect was hospitalized as a precaution but has since been discharged and arrested.

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KARACHI, Pakistan, Sept. 15 -- The 12-year-old son of an American-educated Pakistani woman whom U.S. authorities have linked to al-Qaeda has been handed over to Pakistani authorities in Afghanistan and is soon to be reunited with family in Pakistan, Afghan and Pakistani officials said Monday.

The boy was detained in Afghanistan along with his mother, Aafia Siddiqui, in July, and his fate since then has been one of the many unanswered questions about his mother's case. Siddiqui is now in New York facing federal charges.

Afghan authorities released the boy to the Pakistani Embassy in the Afghan capital, Kabul, after learning that he holds dual citizenship in Pakistan and the United States, said Sultan Ahmed Baheen, a spokesman for the Afghan Foreign Ministry. "He is being sent back to relatives in Pakistan -- probably with his aunt."

Siddiqui is a behavioral scientist with degrees from Brandeis University and MIT. According to a federal indictment filed against her in New York this month, Siddiqui and her son were taken into custody while wandering near the home of the governor of Ghazni province. Her handbag was found to contain instructions for making bombs and chemical weapons, and notes that referred to a "mass casualty attack," the Empire State Building, the Brooklyn Bridge and the Statue of Liberty, the indictment alleged.

U.S. officials say that while in Afghan custody, Siddiqui grabbed the M4 rifle of a U.S. soldier who had come to question her. She fired several shots at him and other Americans and was herself shot in the subsequent scuffle, according to the indictment. Charged in a New York federal court last month, she could face a possible life sentence for allegedly attempting to kill the Americans.

According to a biography of high-value detainees released by the office of the U.S. National Director of Intelligence, Siddiqui married top al-Qaeda operative Ammar al-Baluchi shortly before he was arrested in Pakistan in April 2003 in connection with helping to plot the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

U.S. officials have alleged that Baluchi was a key assistant and relative of Khalid Sheik Mohammed, said to have been the central planner of the 9/11 attacks. Baluchi allegedly asked Siddiqui to assist another al-Qaeda plotter, Majid Khan, with gaining entry into the United States in 2002.

Siddiqui's whereabouts for the past five years have also been the subject of discord.

Family members say she and her three children disappeared five years ago when she was on her way to the airport in Karachi, where she planned to board a plane to visit an uncle in Islamabad. Siddiqui's sister, Fauzia Siddiqui, denies that her sister had any links to al-Qaeda.

British journalist and activist Yvonne Ridley has said that Siddiqui matched the description of a female prisoner held for five years in the U.S- run prison at Bagram air base in Afghanistan. Siddiqui's family has said she was tortured by Americans there.

Siddiqui's lawyers also say that she was kept in secret captivity in Pakistan at one point. The ordeal, they said, left her with severe physical and mental problems.

CIA officials have said she was never in U.S. custody and that they had no knowledge of Siddiqui's whereabouts before she surfaced in Ghazni in July.

After their detention, the boy remained in Afghan custody while Siddiqui was flown to the United States. U.S. officials visited the boy in late August to check on his welfare and ascertain that he is a U.S. citizen, according to a State Department official who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Afghan officials said Monday that the boy traveled under several names and referred to himself variously as Ali Hassan or Ahmed. Baheen, the Afghan spokesman, said Siddiqui adopted the boy in the southern Pakistani city of Multan after his mother, a medical doctor, and his father, an engineer, were killed in a devastating earthquake in northern Pakistan in 2005.

The boy was born in the United States 12 years ago when his parents were living there, so he is considered a dual Pakistani-American national, Baheen said. "It took us a while to sort out the legal issues because of all this, but finally we turned him over to the Pakistan Embassy," Baheen said.

Gideon Oliver, one of Siddiqui's attorneys, said that he and Elizabeth Fink, Siddiqui's lead attorney, were preparing to meet with their client "to tell her the good news."

The whereabouts of the two other children, who family members say disappeared with Siddiqui, are not known.

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DALLAS - A robber rolled into a Dallas convenience store came armed with a bat and a knife. He left with a lot of condoms and an energy drink.

Dallas police Cpl. Kevin Janse said Friday that a man in a wheelchair entered a Dallas 7-Eleven Wednesday afternoon, rolled straight toward the cash register and beat it with a baseball bat until it opened.

But he didn't grab any cash. Instead, police say he stole 10 boxes of condoms and an energy drink before making his getaway Wednesday afternoon.

Janse says the suspect may have been homeless and was likely intoxicated at the time of the robbery.

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Depok, W Java (ANTARA News) - An investigation team of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) on Friday carried out a thorough search of the home and car showrom of Chairman of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) in Depok City Yusuf Setiawan alias Oliang, looking for evidence on his alleged share in the corruption case of the procurement of heavy equipment for West Java in the 2003-2004 fiscal year.

The nine-member investigation team arrived at the destination on two Kijang vans at 3 p.m, and left at 9 p.m.

Besides this at Jalan Kenanga no 7, Depok regency, Pancoran Mas subdistrict, "Setiajaya Mobilindo", Jusuf`s other showroom at Jalan Margonoda No 348, was later also searched by the KPK investigation team.

In the meantime, KPK spokesman Johan Budi said the search operation was a follow up on an alleged corruption case involving former West Java Governor Danny Setiawan.

Johan said the investigator were still collecting evidence relating to the procurement of a number of fire engines and some heavy eqquipment by the West Java provincial administration in the 2003-2004 fiscal year. But Johan could not tell how much the state has lost because of the case.

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Jakarta (ANTARA News) - National Police spokesman Abubakar Nataprawira said on Monday Verry Idham Henryansah alias Ryan, the main suspect in a serial killing and mutilation case, may face the death penalty.

He said the suspect would be prosecuted on charges of breaching article 340 of the Criminal Code which was punishable by 20 years in jail, life or death.

"I think, the element of premeditation exists in the case. It is impossible for him to kill ten people if he had not planned it," the police spokesman said.

Nataprawira said besides article 340, Ryan had also breached article 339 of the Criminal Code on murder accompanied by other crimes. This article carried a punishment of up to 15 years in jail.

He said because the crimes occurred in two places -- Jakarta and Jombang district in East Java -- the investigations would be carried out by police of the two provinces.

"The mutilation case will be handled by the Jakarta police because it happened in South Jakarta while the serial murders case will be tackled by the East Java police because they took place in Jombang," Nataprawira said.

On the location of the prosecution, it would be left to the Supreme Court to decide whether it would be held in Jakarta or in Jombang.

Ryan is the main suspect in the mutilation case of Heri Santoso (40) whose body parts (consisting of seven parts) were found in a suitcase, a backpack and a plastic bag in two locations in Jalan Kebagusan Raya, Pasar Minggu, East Jakarta, on July 12, 2008.

He is also the main suspect in the murders of nine others whose bodies were found buried in the backyard of his father`s house in Maijo hamlet, Jatiwates village, Jombang district East Java. Four of the bodies were found on July 22, 2008 and five others on Monday (July 28).

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DENPASAR, Indonesia - Indonesia's Supreme Court has given the green light for the execution of the three Bali bombers after rejecting their last appeal, authorities on the holiday island said last Friday.

The court has sent a letter to the Bali prosecutor's office confirming the rejection of the bombers' latest and third petition meant the appeals process was exhausted, Denpasar district court head Nyoman Gede Wirya said.

"The Supreme Court only acknowledges (the bombers') first appeal, which they've already rejected. The ball is now in the hands of the (Bali) prosecutor's office to carry out the sentence, the appeals process is over," he said.

A Supreme Court spokesman could not be reached for comment.

Bali chief prosecutor Dewa Putu Alit Adnyana said he had not yet received the letter but had already appointed a team to oversee the executions, which will be held outside Bali.

"I've already prepared the team to deal with the execution. We're ready whenever," he said.

The three members of the Jemaah Islamiyah regional terror network -- Amrozi, Imam Samudra and Ali Ghufron -- were convicted in 2003 and are being held in an island prison off the south coast of Java.

The men remain defiantly unrepentant over their lead roles as plotters of the 2002 attack which killed 202 people, mostly foreign tourists at bars and nightspots on Bali.

Rights group Amnesty International has come out in opposition to the bombers' execution, saying they were sentenced under a new anti-terror law that retroactively applied the death penalty.

"Under international law... and the Indonesian Constitution, a person cannot be tried under legislation brought in after the incident took place," Amnesty said in a statement.

The condemned men have said they will not seek presidential clemencies and claim they are looking forward to becoming martyrs.

But their lawyer said Thursday they would seek to challenge the death penalty itself through Indonesia's Constitutional Court.

"I'm shocked knowing that the Supreme Court took a decision that soon. It's never happened before," lawyer Fahmi Bachmid said.

"All of them have repeatedly said they will only ask pardon from God, not the president. This is their faith."

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