The verdict on repentant Bali bombing suspect Ali Imron, for whom prosecutors have sought a 20-year jail sentence instead of death by firing squad, will be announced on Thursday, a judge said.

"Since the defendant and lawyer do not propose to reply and as the defense previously was sufficient, then the court is adjourned until Thursday, September 18, with the agenda to hand down the verdict for the defendant," presiding judge Mulyani said in court on Wednesday.

Imron is charged with plotting, organizing and carrying out crimes of terror over the October 12 nightclub blasts that killed 202 people, most of them foreign tourists.

But unlike some other key suspects for whom prosecutors have demanded the death penalty, Imron has expressed sorrow that his actions killed innocent people and urged his family and supporters not to imitate him.

Those were cited as mitigating factors when prosecutors made their request this month.

The bombings have been blamed on militants linked to the Southeast Asian Islamist network Jemaah Islamiah, in turn tied to Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda.

In separate trials, judges on Wednesday imposed seven-year jail sentences on two men who helped Mukhlas, accused of controlling the Bali bombings operation, while on the run. Prosecutors have sought death for Mukhlas.

The judges in the trial of Najib Nawawi said the defendant had provided shelter for Mukhlas at his home, while another panel said M. Musafak had provided a car.

With Wednesday's verdicts, the Denpasar district court have now convicted nine men over the Bali blasts, and passed two death sentences.

The first death sentence against Amrozi, brother of Ali Imron and Mukhlas, has been upheld by an appeals court.

In Jakarta, prosecutors demanded a court slap a life sentence on Abdul Jabar, a suspect in an August 2000 blast in the capital that killed two people and wounded the Philippine ambassador.

Earlier this month Amrozi testified that he had provided the car and the explosives used in that blast.

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