Indonesia: Woman jailed for suicide bombing plot

Defendant Dian Yulia Novi (middle) at the court hearing (Source: AP)

Hanoi (VNA) – A woman who was accused of having links with a bombing plot of the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS) at the Indonesian presidential palace in Jakarta was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison, her lawyer said on August 28.

The defendant, Dian Yulia Novi, 28, has been proven guilty of violating the anti-terrorism law. The verdict was handed down by the East Jakarta District Court, stating her actions contradicted with the Indonesian Government’s efforts to eradicate terrorism.

Novi was arrested in a rented house with a 3kg bomb in December 2016, just one day before the planned bombing.

This was the first time a woman has been accused of involving in a suicide bombing attempt in Indonesia. Judges delivered the verdict earlier than expected, as Novi is nine months pregnant and she would not appeal.

Novi and her husband were among five people arrested for suspected links with last year’s attack plot.

Another woman named Tutin Sugiarti, alleged as the person who encouraged Novi to become a suicide bomber, was sentenced to three and a half years in prison. Police believed that the group had close connection with Bahrun Naim, an Indonesian insurgent group which fights along IS in Syria.

Indonesian authorities are worried about increasing activities of insurgents in the country, especially the return of 500 Indonesians who support IS in Syria.-VNA