An Indonesian Islamic militant accused of planting bombs in three churches almost three years ago went on trial Thursday.
Dani Sitorus, alias Awaluddin, alias Abu Yasar, stands charged with planning the attacks and planting bombs at two Protestant churches and a Catholic church in the North Sumatra provincial capital of Medan on May 28, 2000.
Police have said the church bombings in the Sumatran city were ordered by Hambali, a senior operative of the Jamaah Islamiyah (JI) regional terror group.
Hambali was arrested in Thailand last August and is being detained by U.S. authorities at an undisclosed location.
Prosecutors accused Sitorus of planting a bomb at a Protestant church during a Sunday service. He posed as a member of the congregation but left before the bomb exploded, injuring 30 people.
The two other devices were found and defused in time.
Judge Binsar Gultom, a member of the panel hearing the case, said the trial would resume on March 4 to hear from the defendant and his lawyers.
Another suspect, Toni Togar, will soon face trial over his involvement in the Medan bombings, Gultom said, without specifying a date.