INTERNATIONAL: A prominent Indonesian militant believed to be linked to the 2002 Bali bombings which killed 202 people on the resort island has been sentenced to 15 years in prison, his lawyer has announced on Wednesday , 19 January.

Aris Sumarsono, better known as Zulkarnaen, was a former military commander in Jemaah Islamiah (JI), a Southeast Asian jihadist network with ties to al Qaeda. The 58-year-old had been on the run for almost two decades after being named a suspect in the Bali attacks.

Police and prosecutors have accused Zulkarnaen of playing a role in making the bombs used in the Bali attacks, and in the 2003 bombing of the J.W. Marriott hotel in Jakarta that killed 12 people.

Zulkarnaen was found guilty of withholding information and sheltering an extremist figure, not of involvement in the Bali attacks, his lawyer Asludin Hatjani has said, describing his client's jail sentence as too long.

Asludin has also said he would consult with Zulkarnaen about a possible appeal.

^{PHOTO: EXTERIOR OF EAST JAKARTA DISTRICT COURT, EXTERIORS OF CLOSED COURT ROOM, FILE FOOTAGE OF ZULKARNAEN AND BALI BOMBINGS}