The terrorist, who was Noordin M. Top’s teacher, had a role as an assistant field coordinator during the Bali bombing incident. He is also known to be shrewd in strategizing war and espionage (undercover) because he is also known to have experience in terrorism in Afghanistan and Mindanao, Philippines.
After his arrest in 2011, an Indonesian court finally sentenced him to 20 years in prison on June 21, 2012. At that time, Umar Patek was found guilty on all six counts. During the trial, he apologized to the victim’s family. Until finally on December 7, 2022 yesterday, Umar Patek was released.
Therefore, many people feels reluctance to this decision. One of them was the Deputy Prime Minister of Australia, Richard Marles, who said “We will continue to send representatives to ensure the close monitoring of Umar Patek.” He continued again, Richard said “I think this will be a very tough day for Australia”.
Beside of that, in August 2022, the Australian Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, also said that he was simply disgusted by Patek’s actions. His early liberation was also traumatic for the bereaved families of the victims.
Hundreds of survivors and mourners of the victims of the bombing gathered in Bali and Australia to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the deadliest terror attack in Southeast Asia.
