Bali bomber's appeal rejected

Amrozi was dubbed 'the laughing bomber' by Australian media

An Indonesian court has rejected an appeal by the Bali bomber Amrozi, who was sentenced to death for his role in the blasts.

"Having studied the case files, the judges at the High Court remain convinced that Amrozi is guilty," said Markus Takaria, a court spokesman.

Amrozi's lawyers said their client would now file an appeal to the Supreme Court, a process that could take years.

They said they did not dispute that Amrozi was guilty of the Bali bombings, which killed 202 people last October. But they argued that he did not deserve to die, given that he was not one of the main planners of the attacks.

One of Amrozi's lawyers, Wirawan Adnan, told the BBC he was not surprised by the High Court ruling.

The judges were sitting in Bali, he said, so their decision was based only on emotion.

Long process

If the Supreme Court appeal fails, there are still two further avenues to explore - a judicial review and a plea for a presidential pardon.

Amrozi himself has claimed he would be "happy to die as a martyr".

At the time of his death sentence, a group representing some of the British victims in the bombing said it would lobby Jakarta to reduce Amrozi's sentence to life in prison.

The group said his execution would make him appear a martyr, and spark more militant attacks.

Amrozi was charged after he admitted buying the explosives and the minivan used in the 12 October blasts.

Police said the bombings were planned by Jemaah Islamiah (JI), a militant Muslim group which wants to overthrow the Indonesian Government and set up a Muslim alternative across South East Asia.

Amrozi, a 41-year-old mechanic, has denied the attack was the work of JI, which has been linked to Osama Bin Laden's al-Qaeda network.

Another man who was convicted last week over his role in the attacks, Imam Samudra, has also lodged an appeal with the High Court.

Imam Samudra was sentenced to death for acting as the field commander in the bombings, but his defence lawyers that he too was only a minor player, and not a ringleader in the Bali plot.