JAKARTA, July 23 (UPI) -- Indonesia's Supreme Court has ruled that an anti-terrorism law used to convict suspects in the 2002 Bali bombings was illegally used, the BBC reported Friday.
The law was enacted after the Bali bombings that killed 202 people, mostly foreigners. Lower courts have convicted 32 of the suspects.
There is confusion over whether or not the ruling will affect those already convicted. A court official said it would not; a defense lawyer insisted it would.
One defense lawyer said he would use the new Supreme Court ruling to appeal the convictions of 27 defendants.
Two other defendants have chosen not to appeal; and the Supreme Court has already dismissed the appeals of the three main convicts.
The ruling came during an appeal by Masykur Abdul Kadir, who was sentenced to 15 years in jail for his role in the attacks on the resort island.
Even if the ruling does not annul convictions already gained, it could jeopardize attempts to convict Indonesian Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Ba'asyir of terrorism. Police recently said they had new evidence to show he was the senior leader of militant group Jemaah Islamiah, which has been blamed for Bali and a string of other attacks.
