Foreign women jailed for visa offenses<\/p>\n
Nani Farida, The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh<\/p>\n
An Indonesian court in troubled Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam province
\nsentenced on Monday two foreign women, Lesley McCulloch, 42, and
\nJoy Lee Sadler, 57, to five and four months in jail respectively
\nfor visa violations.<\/p>\n
British academic McCulloch and American nurse Sadler were
\nordered to pay Rp 5,000 (56 U.S. cents) each in court costs.<\/p>\n
\"The defendants have been found guilty of violating their
\nvisas,\" Presiding Judge Arsil Marwan said here on Monday.<\/p>\n
Arsil added that the time they had spent in detention since
\ntheir arrests on Sept. 11, 2002, would be deducted from their
\nsentences.<\/p>\n
The rulings mean that McCulloch will spend 37 more days in
\njail while Sadler will face another 12 days.<\/p>\n
Judge Arsil said both McCulloch and Sadler had intentionally
\nviolated their tourist visas.<\/p>\n
McCulloch and her traveling companion Sadler were arrested in
\nSouth Aceh's Keude Rundeng Kluet village on Sept. 11. They were
\nin possession of a laptop computer, photographs of suspected
\nseparatist members, transcripts of interviews with refugees, and
\na map showing Indonesian military (TNI) checkpoints throughout
\nAceh.<\/p>\n
They should have visited resort areas, not Manggamat village
\nto meet members of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), photograph a
\ndevastated village, and treat refugees, Arsil said.<\/p>\n
\"Even if they were ordered by two gunmen to go to Manggamat
\nvillage, they should have refused to do so,\" he added.<\/p>\n
Article 50 of Immigration Law No. 9\/1992 stipulates that
\nforeigners who intend to misuse their visas or undertake
\nactivities not in line with their visas face a maximum penalty of
\nfive years in jail or a fine of Rp 25 million.<\/p>\n
Both McCulloch and Sadler were uncooperative during the trial,
\nwhich served as a compounding factor against them, Arsil said.<\/p>\n
The judge concluded that their meeting with GAM members could
\nadversely affect the integrity of the Unitary Republic of
\nIndonesia.<\/p>\n
Upon hearing the verdict, Sadler burst into tears, saying that
\nher visit was intended to help the Aceh people.<\/p>\n
Sadler, who appeared pale and very weak, wept as the verdict
\nwas announced, but said she would continue with the hunger strike
\nshe began on Nov. 27.<\/p>\n
Although she claimed the trial was unfair, she had no plans to
\nappeal. \"If I appeal, it will only take longer,\" Sadler added.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, McCulloch said that she was one of the victims of
\nthe Aceh conflict.<\/p>\n
According to McCulloch, the sentence was based on what she did
\nand wrote in the past. She noted that foreigners with visa
\nproblems were normally just deported.<\/p>\n
McCulloch, a teacher and researcher at Australia's Tasmania
\nUniversity, said the military had pressured the court to convict
\nher because it was angry over articles she had written for
\npublications in Asia regarding TNI business dealings in Aceh.<\/p>\n
\"I have been through a long process, from torture by the TNI
\nduring the arrest, sexual abuse by the police, to an unfair
\ntrial,\" she said in the courtroom.<\/p>\n
McCulloch condemned the verdict handed down to Sadler, saying
\nthat Sadler should have been released. \"She should be freed. What
\nif she dies?\" she said, adding that she would launch a hunger-
\nstrike in solidarity with Sadler.<\/p>\n
Jhonson Panjaitan, a lawyer for McCulloch and Sadler,
\nregretted the verdicts, saying that the judge had ignored the
\nfacts on the ground in Aceh.<\/p>\n
\"How can they refuse an order from a gunman? This is
\nirrational,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Jhonson also criticized the statement by Judge Arsil that
\nanyone meeting with GAM was endangering national unity. \"What if
\npeople meet GAM during peace talks?\" he asked pointedly.<\/p>",
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