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Summary Indonesia's court has decided that the trial for accused of the 2002 Bali bombings will go ahead.
Indonesias court decided on Monday the trial for militant Umar Patek would go ahead.Patek, 45, is accused of making bombs that exploded in Bali nightclubs packed with Australian tourists in 2002. Patek is also accused of mixing chemicals for 13 bombs that detonated in five churches in Jakarta on Christmas Eve in 2000 and killed around 15 people. Security officials say he belonged to the banned Jemaah Islamiah group linked to al Qaeda.Pateks defence team had previously requested for the case to be dropped, calling the charges insufficient.But the court on Monday decided that the trial should continue. Pateks lawyer Asludin Hatjani, said he disagreed with the courts ruling but accepted the decision.The Bali bombs were a watershed for Indonesia, which has the worlds largest Muslim population, forcing the secular state to confront the presence of violent militants on its soil.The government of President Bambang Susilo Yudhoyono has been criticised for doing little to curb more general religious intolerance that has become increasingly common in the diverse country.
