Key witness in Aceh rights abuse trial missing<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): A key witness in the prosecution of alleged
\nhuman rights abuses in Aceh has gone missing, bogging down a
\nplanned trial due for later this month.<\/p>\n
Minister of Human Rights Affairs Hasballah M. Saad did not
\nelaborate on the identity of the witness, saying only the person
\nwas a \"military officer\" of the Medan-based Bukit Barisan
\nMilitary Command which oversees security in Aceh.<\/p>\n
He did not say when or where the witness was last seen.<\/p>\n
Speaking during a visit to Kendari, Southeast Sulawesi,
\nHasballah said a trial was originally due to begin during the
\nlast week of February, \"but it has been delayed due to the
\ndisappearance of the key witness\".<\/p>\n
He acknowledged that the disappearance would hamper the 18
\nmilitary personnel and two civilians who were allegedly involved
\nin the murders of 65 people in West Aceh in July.<\/p>\n
During the incident, troops allegedly shot dead on July 23
\nIslamic boarding school teacher Tengku Bantaqiah, his wife, his
\nstudents and dozens of farmers in an antirebel raid in the remote
\nBeutong area, some 100 kilometers south of Lhokseumawe.<\/p>\n
Local military officers maintain Bantaqiah and his students,
\nbelieved to be allies of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), were
\nkilled in an exchange of fire.<\/p>\n
Witnesses and a government-sanctioned inquiry said, however,
\nthat they were executed by troops.<\/p>\n
The suspects in the trial were scheduled to be tried before a
\njoint military-civilian panel of six judges.<\/p>\n
The identities of the suspects have been kept secret. Military
\nPolice chief Maj. Gen. Djasri Marin said in December that the
\nmost senior among the suspects was a lieutenant colonel.<\/p>\n
The latest incident may likely further delay the planned trial
\nafter it was initially to be held at the end of January on Sabang
\nisland, just off the northwestern tip of Sumatra.<\/p>\n
Hasballah said the disappearance means that the results of the
\nlegal proceedings against the suspects may not be \"optimal\".<\/p>\n
The Beutong shooting is among five human rights cases in Aceh
\nbeing highlighted in investigations of alleged abuses in the
\nrestive province.<\/p>\n
News of the witness' disappearance comes on the heels of the
\ndiscovery of the body of a vocal House of Representatives
\nlegislator who was a member of the Commission of Inquiry into
\nHuman Rights Violations in Aceh.<\/p>\n
Nashiruddin Daud, 58, mysteriously disappeared in Medan, North
\nSumatra, and his body was found several days later at the Pancur
\nBatu tourist resort.<\/p>\n
While the police have not reached a conclusion about the
\ndeath, House Speaker Akbar Tandjung has suggested that the
\nkilling was politically motivated.<\/p>\n
Members of the United Development Party faction in the House
\nhave also threatened to boycott proceedings in the legislature if
\npolice fail to thoroughly investigate the death of their
\ncolleague.<\/p>\n
The resource-rich province has been wracked by clashes between
\ntroops and suspected rebels and their supporters amid mounting
\ndemands for a referendum on self-rule.<\/p>\n
Many observers have said demands for Aceh to secede are fueled
\nby numerous rights abuses in the province by security
\nforces.(byg)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/key-witness-in-aceh-rights-abuse-trial-missing-1447893297",
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