BALI, Indonesia (AP) -- A Muslim radical who testified against his fellow defendants and tearfully apologized for his role in the Bali terrorist bombings was spared the firing squad Thursday and instead received life in prison.
The life sentence for Ali Imron came somewhat as a surprise, since prosecutors had demanded only a 20-year term.
The five-judge panel ruled that Imron's cooperation had to be balanced against the severity of the Oct. 12 nightclub attack on Indonesia's Bali island in which 202 people were killed, most of them foreign tourists.
"He has been helpful. He has shown remorse and has instructed his students and family not to follow the path of violence as he has done," Judge Mulyani said. "But his crime is extraordinary. Not only has he been responsible for killing of 202 people, but his crime has far-reaching effects on the community."
Imron, a 33-year old Islamic boarding school teacher, was arrested in January and admitted to building one of the two bombs that ripped through two packed nightclubs. He also said he drove the bomb-laden minivan to the attack site.
Imron smiled as the verdict was read but said nothing as he was led out of the courtroom. The small crowd in the courtroom -- made up mostly of police officers and government officials -- clapped politely.
One of Imron's lawyers said he may appeal the ruling.
Imron's older brother, Amrozi bin Nurhasyim, and the mastermind of the attacks, Imam Samudra, already have been sentenced to death. Both repeatedly have chastised the West and defended the bombings as necessary to avenge the treatment of Muslims at the hands of the United States and Israel.
Peter Hughes, who was injured in the bombing but was not in court, said he was satisfied because Imron took responsibility for his actions and apologized.
"It's very fair because he has been a little helpful," he said. "The most outspoken and totally arrogant ones deserve what they are getting -- the death sentence. But those, like Imron, who stand up and say they are sorry and remorseful deserve life."
Shortly after his arrest, Imron gave a bizarre press conference in which he apologized to the victims' families and showed how he and others allegedly assembled the explosives.
In court, he broke down in tears and his lawyers said he believes the attacks were not in accordance with Islamic teachings. He also set himself apart from his fellow defendants by wearing a Western suit and tie, rather than a traditional Islamic tunic.
Ten people have been convicted in the blasts, out of 35 arrested.
The Bali attack is blamed on the Jemaah Islamiyah network, which reportedly wants to turn much of Southeast Asia into an Islamic state. The network's commander, Riduan Isamuddin Hambali, was captured last month in Thailand and is in U.S. custody.
Jemaah Islamiyah also is accused of directing last month's car bombing of a U.S.-owned hotel in Jakarta which killed 12 people. At least nine suspects have been arrested in connection with the blast, but none has been formally charged.
Imron's sentence is expected to help shield the world's largest Muslim nation against criticism from some Western governments that it recently faltered in its anti-terrorism campaign.
It came under fire earlier this month when a Jakarta court sentenced Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Bashir to only four years in prison for sedition and acquitted him of heading Jemaah Islamiyah. The verdict has been appealed.
"I think the judges are determined to show they are taking these cases extremely seriously," said Sydney Jones, a terrorism expert and the Indonesian project director for the International Crisis Group. "Perhaps, the judges wanted to show toughness."
But Jones and others also said Imron's life sentence allows for the possibility it could be reduced in the coming years -- possibly by a ruling political party that wanted to win votes from conservative Muslims.
