GAM members receive prison terms<\/p>\n
Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Medan, North Sumatra<\/p>\n
A panel of judges at Medan district court sentenced on Thursday
\n10 members of the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM) to between
\ntwo and 10 years in jail for acts of terrorism.<\/p>\n
Of the 10, two were top brass in GAM's Medan Deli area of
\noperations. This was the first trial in Medan to decided the fate
\nof leading GAM personnel.<\/p>\n
In the hearing, which was tightly guarded by dozens of police,
\nthe panel of judges sentenced GAM Medan Deli commander Manaf Abdi
\nto 10 years in jail and his deputy M. Yahya to six years.<\/p>\n
Eight other GAM members were given sentences of varying
\nlength: Abdullah Sulaiman received six years, T. Said Azhar nine,
\nAnwar Adan six, Musliadi eight, T. Mustafa Halim two, Nasrul
\nnine, Tengku Zainal two and Tengku Abid Johan five years.<\/p>\n
The 10 were jailed for their respective roles in a spate of
\nbombings in Medan in 2002 and 2003. They were charged with
\ninvolvement in the bombings of ASEAN Hotel International on
\nAugust 17, 2002, the office of the Medan Mayor on March 31, 2002,
\nand a gas pipe network belonging to state oil and gas company
\nPertamina on Jl. Medan Belawan on April 1 last year.<\/p>\n
All the defendants were charged with violating the Law on
\nTerrorism 2003.<\/p>\n
No fatalities were reported in the incidents, a fact that
\nmight have led the judges to hand down more lenient sentences to
\nthe convicted bombers.<\/p>\n
The sentences were mostly less than what had been sought by
\nprosecutors during the course of the trial.<\/p>\n
Manaf Abdi's sentence, for example, was much more lenient than
\ndemanded. The prosecutor had demanded a jail sentence of 20
\nyears, but in the end Manaf was given only 10.<\/p>\n
According to the judges, Manaf received a heavier sentence
\nthan the others because he had planned and funded the bombings.<\/p>\n
Abid Saleh, one of the judges delivering the verdict, said
\nthat Manaf was known to have attended and led several meetings
\nbefore the bombings were carried out. The defendant handed over
\nmoney to the executors of the bombings, amounting to Rp 800,000.
\nThe defendant also ordered another defendant, Musliadi, to take
\nfour homemade bombs from Aceh to Belawan seaport, Medan.<\/p>\n
After the trial was over Manaf told The Jakarta Post that he
\ncould not accept the verdict. He asserted that an Indonesian
\ncourt had no right to prosecute him and the other defendants,
\nbecause, he said, the bombings were part of an international
\ndispute between the countries of Indonesia and Nanggroe Aceh
\nDarussalam.<\/p>\n
\"Only the International Court of Justice has the right to
\nprosecute us,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Prosecutions of GAM members have frequently been held in
\ndistrict courts across the archipelago. Those convicted have
\noccupied cells in several parts in the country, depending on
\nwhere the prosecutions were held.<\/p>\n
Data on how many GAM members have already been prosecuted is
\nnot available, but hundreds have been arrested following the
\nimposition of martial law in Aceh in May last year.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian Military has estimated that GAM had some 5,000
\nactive members.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/gam-members-receive-prison-terms-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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