Bali bombers may be killed by firing squad

updated 2:49 a.m. ET Oct. 21, 2008

JAKARTA, Indonesia - A top Indonesian court rejected a claim by three convicted Bali bombers that the constitution prohibits deaths by firing squad, clearing the way Tuesday for their executions.

The Constitutional Court dismissed their request to be beheaded instead, which they claim is more in line with Islamic law and their defense lawyers argued is less cruel than being shot to death.

"There is no method of execution without pain," said presiding Judge Mohammad Mahfud, outlining the decision.

The defendant's suffering is a logical consequence of the death penalty under Indonesian law and "cannot be categorized as torturing the convict," the nine judge panel concluded.

More than 200 killed
The October 2002 Bali nightclub bombings killed 202 people, 88 of them Australian tourists.

Convicts Amrozi Nurhasyim, Ali Gufron and Imam Samudra have exhausted all appeals and are expected to be executed this year. They have shown no remorse and have said their deaths would be avenged.

The bombings — carried out by the regional militant group Jemaah Islamiyah — thrust Southeast Asia onto the front line of the war on terror.

Indonesia has since suffered three smaller attacks, the last also on Bali in 2005, but foreign diplomats, analysts and authorities agree that the threat level is significantly lower today.

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