Release of Bali bomb maker 'difficult day' for Australians, says deputy PM

FILE PHOTO: Indonesian militant Umar Patek walks after reading his final defence at the West Jakarta court May 31, 2012. Prosecutors last week sought life in prison for Patek, accused of making bombs that exploded at Bali nightclubs packed with Australian tourists in 2002, killing 202 people. Patek is also accused of mixing chemicals for 13 bombs that detonated in five churches in Jakarta on Christmas Eve, 2000 and killed around 15 people. REUTERS/Enny Nuraheni

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Indonesia's release of convicted Bali bomb maker Umar Patek will be a "difficult day" for Australians who lost loved ones and relatives in the attacks, Australia's Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles said on Thursday.

Patek was freed on parole late on Wednesday, the same day a suicide bomber who once was jailed on terrorism charges attacked a police station in Indonesia's West Java province, killing himself and one officer.