Hotel bombing suspect goes on trial

Noordin Mohammad Top would have been pleased to have died a martyr in a hail of gunfire but his Jemaah Islamiah terrorism network was now seriously degraded, according to his driver. Amir Abdillah made the remarks to reporters yesterday as he stood trial for his role in protecting Noordin and securing explosives used in the Jakarta hotel bombings last year that killed nine people, including three Australians.

He has also been charged for taking part in a plot to assassinate the Indonesian President, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, in a car bomb attack which was to have taken place a month after the hotel bombings. Abdillah scoured Java for safe houses for Noordin and ran errands for him, including buying materials for explosives. Asked about Noordin's demise after seven years of eluding a massive manhunt, Abdillah said: ''That's what he wanted. He wanted to be a martyr.''