A convicted terrorist jailed over the 2002 Bali bombings is expected to walk free from prison – barely two months ahead of the 20th anniversary of the attacks.
On October 12, 2002, the double suicide bombings at two bars in the Bali tourist district of Kuta claimed the lives of 202 people, including 88 Australians.
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Following a decade-long manhunt, Umar Patek, 52, was in 2012 jailed over his role in the attacks and sentenced to 20 years in jail.
However, now the convicted bomb maker is expected to be released in just days – 10 years earlier than his original sentence.
Patek was granted an early release as part of Indonesia’s Independence Day celebrations.
Although Patek has only served half his sentence, officials insist he has been de-radicalised.
7NEWS Reporter Liam Tapper told Sunrise there were a few factors behind the decision, including that he has reportedly been behaving well behind bars.
“He has also co-operated with police in their investigations,” he said.
“Another reason is he has made a public statement pledging allegiance to Australia, and he has also apologised to two people who lost family members in that time.”
The timing of his release comes as a devastating blow to victims’ families as they prepare to mark the 20th anniversary of the attacks in October.
The families say the news of his early release has come as a shock.
The memorial service is expected to take place at a Bali memorial in the Sydney suburb of Coogee.
Survivor Erik de Haart, who pulled a number of people from the burning ruins of the Sari club back in 2002, told Sunrise he was disappointed but not surprised to hear the news of Patek’s release.
“This guy’s responsible for the death of over 200 people, and he gets released early because he was a good boy in jail? Please,” he said.
“Anyone could pretend but at the end of the day he made a weapon that killed 202 people including 88 Australians, and he gets 10 years, is that enough?
“Is that justice for 200 people?
“I don’t care if he’s been de-radicalised or not it could be part of an act, but at the end of the day he made a weapon that killed 200 people and doesn’t deserve to be given a good behaviour release,” de Haart said.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the early release would be difficult for victim’s families.
“This will add to the distress and trauma that the families of the 88 Australians who lost their lives in this terrorist attack feel, particularly on commemoration days, and the 20th anniversary is coming up,” he told Sunrise.
“It’s not just about the 88 people, we are talking about thousands of people who have been impacted with trauma, who have lost loved ones.
“They lost mothers and fathers and sons and daughters and brothers and sisters in this terrorist attack.”
Patek, a former member of terror group Jemaah Islamiyah, fled his homeland in the wake of the 2002 Bali nightclub bombings.
There was a $US1 million ($A1.47 million) reward posted for his capture.
That came in 2011 when he was arrested in the Pakistani city of Abbottabad, the same city where Osama Bin Laden was cornered and killed.
Patek was extradited back to Indonesia, where he faced trial over his senior role in the Bali bombings as well as attacks on churches in Jakarta on Christmas Eve 2000.
Patek told his trial that he had helped mix the chemicals for the massive Bali bombs but downplayed his role, insisting he was not a major player.
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