'Smiling bomber' must die

The man known as the "smiling bomber" was today sentenced to death over the blasts which killed 202 people, mostly foreigners, in Bali.

A tightly-guarded Indonesian court found Amrozi bin Nurhasyim guilty of planning and helping to execute last year's nightclub bombings.

Amrozi is one of about three dozen alleged members of extremist group Jemaah Islamiyah - linked with al Qaeda - who are under arrest for the 12 October explosions. Fellow defendants include two of his brothers.

Amrozi kept his head down and refused to answer questions from reporters when he arrived at court in a police armoured vehicle.

As he entered the courtroom he raised his fist and shouted "Allahu Akbar!" - "God is great". Then he listened dispassionately as judges read out statements from 58 witnesses.

Sitting before the panel of five judges, he kept his head down while shaking his knees. He now faces death by firing squad.

Amrozi, 41, has been called the "smiling bomber" because of his lack of remorse and jocular manner after his arrest last year. During the trial of another suspect, he grinned and yelled out "Bomb!" when asked about the latest terrorist atrocity in Indonesia, Tuesday's explosion at the JW Marriott Hotel in Jakarta.

"Seeing Amrozi laugh and joke ... I just want the judges to let him rot," said Australian Geoff Phillips, whose son Brad was injured in the attacks on Bali.

While Amrozi did not take part in the actual attack, police say he purchased a van and explosives used in the car bomb that flattened the crowded Sari Club and nearby Paddy's Bar.

During his trial Amrozi said he had been forced by police to sign a confession.

However, his brother, Ali Imron, confirmed in his testimony that Amrozi had taken part in plotting sessions and had bought the vehicle.

Indonesian authorities, as well as foreign governments also suspect that Jemaah Islamiyah was involved in the bombing this week of the JW Marriott, which killed at least 10 people and wounded nearly 150.