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A bomb maker involved in a Bali terror attack that left 202 people dead could be freed this month after having his sentence slashed in Indonesia.
Umar Patek was originally sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2012 after being convicted of helping to mix the bombs that obliterated two popular tourist bars on the paradisiac island in 2002. The attacks, which left another 209 people injured, were carried out by members of Jemaah Islamiyah—a violent Islamist group affiliated with al Qaeda—with Osama Bin Laden purportedly voicing a cassette message obtained by media explaining that the attack was partly a retaliation for the U.S. War on Terror. Seven Americans were among the dead.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Patek had his sentence reduced by five months to coincide with Indonesia’s independence day, which now makes the bomb-maker eligible for parole. The sentence reduction is one of several Patek has received, but the decision to grant him parole has yet to be confirmed.