Indonesia militant gets 10 years prison for Jakarta attack

JAKARTA, Indonesia – An Indonesian court on Thursday sentenced an Islamic militant to 10 years in prison for his involvement in a suicide bombing and gun attack in the capital Jakarta earlier this year.

Dodi Suridi, 23, was captured a day after the Jan. 14 attack that killed eight people including four militants, who police said claimed allegiance to the Islamic State group.

Judge Achmad Fauzi, who presided over the trial at the West Jakarta District Court, said Suridi was guilty of violating Indonesia’s anti-terror law by supplying materials used to prepare bombs that were used in the attack.

About 40 militants have been arrested in connection with the attack that began with a suicide bombing inside a Starbucks cafe.

In a separate trial at the same court, Ali Hamka, 48, was sentenced Thursday to four years in prison for his ultimately unsuccessful attempts to procure guns and ammunition for the attack.

Suridi knew a suicide bombing would take place but did not know when and where, according to Fauzi. He also participated in meetings aimed at recruiting suicide bombers.

Suridi showed no remorse in the court room. He said he would not appeal and called his sentence the “risk of being a terrorist.”

Prosecutors had demanded a 10-year sentence.

IS’s deadly attacks in the Middle East and Europe and the group’s online propaganda have helped to recruit a tiny minority of Indonesians to their cause. Authorities say several hundred Indonesians also have travelled to Syria to fight with IS.

But experts say their capacity to mount successful attacks within Indonesia is still limited.

Recent plots have failed completely, including a would-be bombing of a church in Medan on Sumatra and an attack on a police complex in Solo on Java that killed only the suicide bomber.

On Thursday, a man with an IS symbol was shot to death after attacking police on the outskirts of Jakarta with a machete and pipe bombs. Three police officers were injured in the attack.