JAKARTA, June 21 (UPI) -- Umar Patek was sentenced Thursday to 20 years in an Indonesian prison for his role in the 2002 Bali bombings.
In its ruling, the five-judge panel in Jakarta also found Patek guilty of mixing explosives for a series of Christmas Eve attacks on churches in 2000, the Australian Broadcasting Corp. reported.
Patek has admitted helping mix the explosives used in the Bali bombings, but denied he was involved in the planning the 2002 blasts at two nightclubs in the popular tourist town of Kuta that killed 202 people, including 88 Australians. Patek said he had argued against attacking Bali because it was not in an active war zone, ABC reported.
Patek showed no emotion during the 11-hour reading of the verdict.
Patek eluded capture until 2011 when he was arrested in Abbottabad, Pakistan. He was charged with premeditated murder for his part in the Bali bombings. He also was found guilty of weapons and conspiracy charges linked to a terrorist training camp in Aceh in 2010.
Patek could have faced the death penalty but prosecutors said they planned to seek a life sentence, ABC said.
Patek is associated with a splinter group of Jemaah Islamiyah, the terror network behind the Bali bombings, CNN said.
Three men convicted as masterminds of the Bali bombings were executed in 2008.
