'My sons were right,' says Bali bombers' mum

The mother of two of the Bali bombers on death row said Friday her sons were right to "kill infidels," as they prepared to face firing squads over the attacks which killed 202 people.

Seventy-year-old Tariem spoke to AFP in her house in the village of Tenggulun, East Java, after working all day in her fields and visiting the mosque.

"I don't cry. I leave it all to God," she said as convicted terrorists Amrozi and Mukhlas, two of her 13 children, waited for the firing squad in a prison on the other side of Java.

"I feel that killing infidels isn't a mistake because they don't pray," she said as she sat on the stone floor of the family home surrounded by Amrozi's children and wife.

"My sons are right. I wake up at 2:00 am every morning to pray for their safety."

The old woman coughed and asked for medicine as she spoke, and appeared confused about her sons' fate, asking: "Will my sons be executed?"

None of the bombers' relatives here expressed regret for the carnage unleashed on October 12, 2002, when bombs tore through packed tourist nightspots on the resort island of Bali.

More than 160 foreign holidaymakers including 88 Australians were killed in the blasts, one of the worst terror atrocities in the name of Islam since the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States.

Another son, Ali Imron, is serving a life sentence for his role in the plot.

"As prayer leaders my sons would lead prayers at the mosque but they don't do that anymore. I miss that," Tariem said from beneath her prayer shawl.

"I want my sons to be safe and for them not to be executed."

Authorities have said Amrozi, 47, Mukhlas, 48, and Bali ringleader Imam Samudra, 38, will be executed by firing squad any time from midnight Friday to mid-November. The family should be notified three days in advance.

Younger brother Ali Fauzi, 38, said the family had made no plans for funerals and had not been informed about the executions, adding he was sure Amrozi and Mukhlas were on the "right path" in their final days.

"I met both of them last month and they told me, 'don't be sad'. They always look so happy and I'm sure they're fighting on the right path," he said.

Looking relaxed and beaming broadly like his older brother Amrozi, known as the "smiling assassin" for the grin he sported throughout his trial, Fauzi said the family had nothing to be ashamed about.

"Do we feel embarrassed or ashamed of what they have done? No, we feel proud because in this world full of lies and accusations there are still people who are ready to fight against that," he said.

"If they're executed we'll bring them back home and conduct prayers. Then we'll bury them at a site which we can't tell you about," he said.

"We don't want any autopsy because although the soul is no longer there, the body can still feel pain."

Neighbours in the village, dotted with mosques and wooden houses and surrounded by lush green maize and rice fields, expressed little sympathy for Amrozi and Mukhlas.

"They should be executed because all of us should be peaceful toward one another," said Sulastri, a neighbour.

Village chief Djarum said losing any of his neighbours was like losing one of his own family, but he did not support the bombings.

"I'm sad but I'm not proud of what they did because Islam is a peaceful religion," he said.

Shop-owner Mahfud Hasan said he had known Amrozi since they were children.

"I didn't believe it until I saw him confess on TV and I was so shocked," he said.

Students at the Islamic school where Fauzi teaches Koranic studies said they were banned from reading newspapers or watching television.

But they were hungry for news.

"I feel sad that they're being executed because they're Muslims like me, so I sympathise with them," said 20-year-old student Mohammad.