Families' relief at Bali verdict

A number of suspects are thought to be responsible

Relatives of the Britons who lost their lives in the Bali nightclub bombing have welcomed the conviction of one of the main suspects.

Amrozi bin Nurhasyim, dubbed the "smiling bomber", was accused of conspiring, planning and carrying out an act of terrorism, which killed more than 200 people, including 23 Britons.

He was found guilty by a court in Bali on Thursday and sentenced to death.

But the families of British victims rejected the death penalty, saying they did not want him to be a martyr for fundamentalism.

Susannah Miller, who lost brother Dan in the attack in October last year, said the conviction was a small step to justice.

Grief

She told BBC News Online: "We are enormously relieved. Clearly Amrozi is one of the foot-soldiers, he is not the master bomber.

"We want the full chain caught and convicted. We welcome the fact that we are beginning to see justice.

"We very much appeal that he is not executed, becoming a martyr is what he wants. It will add fuel to the fire of fundamentalism."

She also said incarceration would have been a more suitable punishment for the bomber.

"It is very much a life sentence of grief for the relatives. Many of them are living with injuries."

I just want Amrozi to understand what he has done has nothing to do with the Islamic faith Jun Hirst

Sue Cooper, who lost her brother Paul Hussey, who was from Hawkinge, in Kent, was emotional after hearing the verdict.

"We were in the taxi when we heard the news. I nearly cried," she told BBC News Online.

"We knew he was guilty but wanted him to get life. He believes in life after death, believes everything is better.

"I wanted him to stay and rot in some Indonesian prison. We feel we have the life sentence."

Mrs Cooper said she found it impossible to draw anything positive from the aftermath of the bombing.

"People are very charitable, they want good things to come out of it, but it is very difficult to say I want good things. I would just like my brother here."

And she said the British government continued to fail the families of the victims, not offering adequate financial support or counselling.

The British families rejected the death penalty

The girlfriend of a rugby player who died in the bombing agreed that she, and other families, did not want Amrozi to become a martyr.

Jun Hirst, whose boyfriend Daniel Braden, who was from Brighton, was on a tour in Bali with his rugby club at the time, said she would rather he reflect on his "evil" deeds in prison.

"We feel that if he was (given the death penalty), he will die a martyr, his work will be celebrated. It will possibly cause more violence, more terror attacks," she said.

"I don't want him to die thinking that he's completed his work, that he's done everything that God wants him to do."

She said that time to reflect in prison might lead him to realise the "evil and wicked and devastating" effect of the bombing.

'Twisted'

Ms Hirst said she had been surprised at her lack of anger towards the perpetrators of the blasts.

"I have not had an ounce of hate or anger since this happened," she said.

"I think a lot of it is disbelief that somebody could be as twisted, or a group of people can be so twisted and kill so many people in such a devastating way.

"I just want Amrozi to understand what he has done has nothing to do with the Islamic faith."

Tobias Ellwood, whose brother Jonathan lost his life in the bomb, said on behalf of the victims' families: "For us, we're pleased that we're getting it out of the way.

"I don't really want to comment on the death penalty - it's a local law and it's up to them."

Government 'pleased'

He added: "But the bomb that went off in Jakarta is a reminder that the work is far from completed. "

Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott welcomed the conviction, but said the government would not to try to stop the Indonesian authorities from carrying out the execution, despite its opposition to the death penalty.

"It is not for us to tell other countries what to do but our position is clear on the death penalty," Mr Prescott said.

"We have to be pleased that someone has been convicted for committing this horrendous act."