10 years sought for GAM 'treasurers'<\/p>\n
Apriadi Gunawan
\nThe Jakarta Post
\nMedan, North Sumatra<\/p>\n
Two alleged Free Aceh Movement (GAM) members who prosecutors say
\nfunded a grenade attack on a Medan hotel should be sentenced to
\n10 years in prison, the Medan District Court was told on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Prosecutors said the two men, Mustafa Halim and Tengku Zainal,
\nprovided funds for an attack on the Asean International Hotel two
\nyears ago, which they said was designed to intimidate the local
\npopulation. No one was hurt in the attack, which shattered the
\nhotel's front glass panels.<\/p>\n
Head prosecutor Mardiana Sianturi claimed the two defendants
\nhe called GAM "treasurers" had hired two other men, Musliadi and
\nAnwar, to throw grenades at the hotel, located on Jl. Adam Malik
\nin downtown Medan.<\/p>\n
The attack on the hotel, which is popular with foreign
\ntourists, was aimed at sparking fear in Medan society, he said.<\/p>\n
Mardiana said the two had paid Musliadi and Anwar a total of
\nRp 1.8 million (US$211.8) to carry out the attack.<\/p>\n
Musliadi and Anwar, both who are witnesses in the case,
\nreceived further payments totaling Rp 1.5 million after the Aug.
\n17 attack two years ago, while a remaining Rp 300,000 was used to
\ncover the men's communication and meal expenses, Mardiana said.<\/p>\n
Musliadi and Anwar have admitted in earlier trials the
\ngrenades were obtained from Abdullah Sulaiman, another defendant,
\nwho is also an alleged GAM member.<\/p>\n
When the pair threw their grenades at the hotel, only
\nMusliadi's exploded, Mardiana said. The two escaped by riding off
\non motorcycles, he said.<\/p>\n
Head judge Abid Saleh Mendrova said the trial would be
\nadjourned until Feb. 12 to allow the defense time to prepare its
\ncase.<\/p>\n
Edi Purwanto, the lawyer for defendant Mustafa Halim, said he
\nwould the ask judges to consider a light sentence for his client.<\/p>\n
Mustafa had already been fired by GAM leaders for
\ninsubordination before he committed the grenade attack on the
\nhotel, Edi said.<\/p>\n
"The fact he was no longer a GAM member when the attack took
\nplace should be a mitigating factor," he said.<\/p>\n
GAM has a staged a decades-long guerrilla war for independence
\nin Aceh, with its members accusing the central government of
\nsiphoning money out of the resource-rich province. Pro-
\nindependence sentiment has run high in Aceh following the fall of
\nformer hardline president Soeharto in 1998.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian government declared martial law in the province
\nlast year after peace talks between GAM and the Indonesian
\nMilitary (TNI) failed. Many GAM members have been arrested and
\nsentenced to long jail terms for their roles in the rebellion.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/10-years-sought-for-gam-treasurers-1447893297",
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