Bali bomb builder gets life in jail

An Islamist militant who expressed contrition for the bomb he built that killed more than 200 people in Bali last year has been jailed for life by an Indonesian court.

Ali Imron, an Islamic teacher who broke ranks to express remorse, was spared the death sentence handed down to two other militants convicted under tough new anti-terrorism laws.

The judges said although Imron, 33, was guilty of "an extraordinary crime", his polite manner and public remorse deserved a lighter sentence. Prosecutors had sought a 20-year jail sentence, rather than the death penalty, in recognition of his readiness to inform on his co-conspirators.

Imron sat calmly as the sentence was read. He wore a blue suit and tie, in contrast to the flowing white robes favoured by more defiant militants on trial for their role in the Bali bombings.

"I am guilty and I can only seek forgiveness from my family, my friends, the family of victims and the victims," he told the court. The judges said he had admitted putting together a car bomb that exploded last October outside a nightclub packed with westerners. On the same night, he also planted a separate bomb near the US consulate in Bali that exploded without injuring anyone.

He played a key role in planning the attacks, transporting the explosives and surveying the nightclub.

Last month, his younger brother, Amrozi, was sentenced to death by firing squad. A third brother, Ali Ghufron, is also facing trial.