Suspected Indonesian bombmaker Umar Patek’s stay in Abbottabad, where Osama bin Laden was later killed in a US raid, was a coincidence and the pair never met, his lawyer said on Monday.
Patek, 45, faces six counts of murder, bomb-making and illegal firearms possession over the 2002 Bali nightclub attacks, and prosecutors say they will push for the death penalty.
In his trial at the West Jakarta court on Monday, defence lawyers objected to the murder charges, saying Patek was not involved in planning the bombing that killed 202 people, including 88 Australians.
Patek, once the most wanted terror suspect in Indonesia, had a $1 million bounty on his head under the US rewards for justice programme.
He was extradited to Indonesia after being arrested in January 2011 in Abbottabad, where US commandos later killed Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden.
Defence lawyer Asludin Hatjani denied that Patek had gone to Pakistan to meet with the Al-Qaeda boss.
“He went to Pakistan as part of his plans to migrate to Afghanistan. He never had plans to meet Osama bin Laden,” Hatjani said, adding Patek had not met with the Al-Qaeda chief.
Umar Patek never met bin Laden: lawyer
