Indonesian militant gets 11-year jail sentence over suicide bomb plot against presidential palace

Indonesian militant Muhammad Nur Solikin looks on after he was sentenced to 11 years jail in a Jakarta court on Sept 20, 2017, PHOTO: AFP

JAKARTA (AFP) - An Indonesian militant was jailed for 11 years on Wednesday (Sept 20) for orchestrating a plot inspired by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) group to stage a suicide bomb attack on the presidential palace.

Muhammad Nur Solikin, 27, and his wife Dian Yuli Novi were among five terrorists detained last December over plans to attack the palace in Jakarta during a presidential guard-changing ceremony with a three-kilogram bomb encased in a pressure cooker.

The sentence was less than the 15 years which prosecutors had sought.

One of his co-conspirators, Agus Supriyadi, received six years' jail.

Last month, Solikin's wife Novi was sentenced to seven-and-a-half years in jail for her role in the plot.

She was the first woman to be convicted of planning a suicide bombing in Indonesia, highlighting the more active role women are taking in violent extremism.

Police believe the group was strongly linked to Bahrun Naim, a leading Indonesian militant currently fighting with ISIS in Syria.

Indonesia, with the world's largest Muslim population, has long struggled with Islamic militancy and has suffered numerous attacks on its soil.

Many Indonesians have flocked to join ISIS in the Middle East, while radicals who have carried out attacks in the country have been linked to the extremists.

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