Bali Bombing Convict Umar Patek To Be Released Soon

Umar Patek/DOK ANTARA

SURABAYA - The convict of the terrorism case, Umar Patek, will be released on parole. Umar Patek received a five-month remission to reduce his sentence, on the momentum of the 77th Independence Day of the Republic of Indonesia.

"He got a five-month remission. If it is calculated with the remaining criminal period from August 2022 to January 2023, of course it has been completed, and can be paroled," said Head of the Regional Office of the Ministry of Law and Human Rights (Kemenkum HAM) East Java, Zaeroji, confirmed, Friday, August 19.

Zaeroji said Umar Patek would get freedom because he had fulfilled the conditions for parole. However, Zaeroji has not been able to convey when Umar Patek will be released from prison.

"We are still waiting for a decision letter from the central Ministry of Law and Human Rights. He can be released on parole, if the administration is out," he said.

To get parole, Umar Patek must go through two-thirds of his sentence. As of today, two-thirds of that prison term will fall on January 14, 2023.

"To be released on parole, you have to serve two-thirds of the prison term, so if the two-thirds of your detention period ends in January 2023," he said.

Because Umar Patek has already received a five-month remission, the final calculation of his sentence will fall this month, August 2022.

"But right now, he has received a five-month remission. This means that he can actually leave on parole," he said.

Zaeroji said the remission was given because Umar Patek had vowed to return and be loyal to the Republic of Indonesia. In addition, Umar Patek also actively participated in activities and behaved well during his time in Surabaya Class I Prison, Porong, Sidoarjo.

However, Zaeroji said Umar Patek could not immediately leave Porong Prison. The reason is that they are still waiting for a conditional release from the Ministry of Law and Human Rights. Zaeroji predicts it won't take long.

"Once again, we are still waiting for a decision letter from the center (when will Umar Patek be released). Maybe in the near future. I have asked the head of the village head office to propose to the center," he said.

While languishing in Porong Prison since 2014, Umar Patek has received 11 remissions with a total reduced sentence of 33 months and 120 days or a total sentence cut of 11 months in a year. Umar Patek was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2012.

Umar Patek is proven to have made the bombs that destroyed two nightclubs in Bali in 2002 which left 202 people dead. A total of 88 people who died in the incident were Australians.

Apart from being involved in the Bali bombings, Patek was also involved in the bombing of a number of churches in Jakarta on Christmas Eve in 2000, killing at least 15 people.

Patek himself is a member of Jemaah Islamiyah, a militant linked to Al-Qaeda. Patek had fled for nine years before being arrested in Abbottabad, Pakistan, in 2011. In fact, Patek's head was valued at US$1 million or equivalent to Rp. 14.8 billion when he was still a fugitive.