Bali blasts trials begin for four Indonesia militants

DENPASAR, Indonesia, May 9 (Reuters) The trials of fourIslamic militants linked to last year's suicide bombings in Bali -- which blasted through three restaurants and killed 20 people -- started on the resort island today.

The four men are being prosecuted in separate courtrooms under anti-terror laws for roles in the October 1 attacks ranging from making the bombs to maintaining a militant Web site.

They could face the death penalty if convicted.

Prosecutors said handphone seller Anif Solchanuddin, underwent training to become a suicide bomber but was replaced for unspecified reasons at the last minute.

Three suicide bombers died in the attacks in addition to the 20 victims.

Solchanuddin is also accused of delivering bombs to one of Southeast Asia's top fugitives, Noordin Top, after the blasts.

''He was assigned to carry bombs in backpacks dubbed as a 'cosmetic bag' for Noordin Top, ordered by Azahari,'' Prosecutor Putu Indriyati told Denpasar District Court.

Police say Azahari and Top, both Malaysian nationals, were leading figures in the al Qaeda-linked Southeast Asian network Jemaah Islamiah, blamed for terror attacks in the region including other bombings in Bali in 2002 which killed 202 people.

Azahari, who often travelled with Top, was killed last year during a shoot out in the East Java town of Malang.

Another defendant, Abdul Aziz, is accused of setting up a militant Web site, www.anshar.net, which contained diagrams of several locations and explained why they would be ideal for attacking people and how to escape after the attacks.

FIERY JIHAD SPEECH Aziz is also accused of receiving a compact disc featuring a man in black balaclava, thought to be Top, who delivered a fiery speech on jihad. Prosecutors say Aziz transcribed the speech and sent it to international news Web site.

''The defendant knows that the voice belongs to Noordin Top and copied it to a hard disk,'' prosecutor Olopan Nainggolan told the court.

The third defendant, Muhammad Cholily, is accused of making the bombs for the last year's attacks on three cafes. Cholily assembled the bomb with the chief bomb maker Azahari, prosecutors say.

The fourth defendant, Dwi Widiyarto, is accused of transferring the files of the fiery speech by Top to a compact disc and giving it Aziz.

Last month, Indonesian police killed two militant suspects at Top's suspected hideout in the Central Java town of Wonosobo, but failed to capture him.

Aside from the 2002 and 2005 Bali blasts, Jemaah Islamiah, Top and Azahari have been linked to bombings at a luxury hotel in Jakarta in 2003 and outside the Australian embassy in the capital in 2004, among others.

Police and intelligence officials say Jemaah Islamiah has become decentralised with some factions splitting off and operating independently.

Officials add that -- despite the capture of nearly 300 people suspected of violating anti-terrorism laws -- violent militants remain a serious threat in Indonesia, a vast archipelago sprawling some 5,000 km from east to west, with 17,000 islands and 220 million people.

An estimated 85 percent of Indonesians are Muslims. Most are moderates but there has been an increasingly vocal militant minority in recent years.

Reut ers DKS GC1310