20 February 2012 Last updated at 03:05 ET Umar Patek's lawyers object to murder charges and say he did not plan the 2002 Bali bombing
Umar Patek, an alleged mastermind of the 2002 Bali bombing, "never met" al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden in the Pakistani town they were both in.

In a video of his interrogation obtained by the AP news agency, Mr Patek said his presence in Abbottabad at the same time was "a coincidence".

He is on trial in Jakarta, Indonesia for the attacks that killed 202 people.

He is believed to be a key member of al-Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiah (JI) militant group and faces six charges.

Mr Patek's lawyer also said on Monday that his presence in Abbottabad at the same time was a coincidence.

"He went to Pakistan as part of his plans to migrate to Afghanistan. He never had plans to meet Osama bin Laden," defence lawyer Asludin Hatjani is quoted by the AFP news agency as saying.

Mr Patek, who was arrested in January 2011 in the town where bin Laden was later killed in a US raid, faces charges for premeditated murder, bomb-making and illegal firearms possession. Some of his charges carry the death penalty.

No terrorism charge In August, the 45-year-old militant was extradited to Indonesia in a move seen at the time as a significant coup for anti-terror agencies in the country.

None of the charges are related to terrorism, as the terrorism law came into effect only in 2003 and cannot be applied retrospectively.

On Monday, his lawyers objected to the murder charges, telling the court that he was not involved in the planning of the attack.

The trial, which began last week, is expected to go on for months, with a verdict likely to be delivered at the end of May or early June.

Security analysts believe it was no coincidence that he was caught in the same town in which al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden was later killed. Officials cannot confirm whether the two met.

Prosecutors in Indonesia have said that they will push for the maximum death penalty, but some analysts think he could be given life imprisonment instead if found guilty.

The Bali attack in 2002 took place at Paddy's Bar and the Sari Club in the resort of Kuta. It targeted at foreigners and those killed were from 21 countries, including 88 Australians, 38 Indonesians and 28 Britons.

According to a court document obtained by the BBC last week, he fled to the Philippines after the attacks in Bali, and joined the rebel Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) there, with the intention of going to Afghanistan.

In June 2009, he returned to Indonesia with his Philippine wife Ruqayyah Husein Luceno, hiding for a year in Jakarta and other parts of the country, before heading to Pakistan where he was finally apprehended.



Article Source : BBC News

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