Nessen's mother wants to see detained son<\/p>\n
Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
American freelance journalist William Nessen, who is jail in Aceh
\nfor visa violations, has received more support from a new front,
\nhis mother, but she, like all other foreigners, have been barred
\nby the military from traveling to the province.<\/p>\n
According to Nessen's lawyer Amir Syamsuddin, Nessen's mother,
\nHermine Nessen, arrived in Jakarta last Friday. However, she has
\nnot been able to get clearance from the Aceh martial law
\nadministration to visit her son.<\/p>\n
\"She has been in the country since Friday, but with the new
\nregulations, it is difficult for any foreigner to enter Aceh. I
\nwish the government could accommodate a mother's wish to see her
\nson,\" Amir told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Nessen has been in detention at the Aceh police headquarters
\nin Banda Aceh since June 25 when he handed himself over to the
\nmilitary. He had been traveling with a group of Free Aceh
\nMovement (GAM) fighters since at least early May, a few weeks
\nbefore the imposition of martial law on May 19 and the draconian
\nregulations against foreigners and journalists came into effect.<\/p>\n
Currently, he is still undergoing interrogation for possible
\nvisa violations for covering the war, presumably from the
\nseparatists' side, which was declared verboten by the authorities
\nin late May.<\/p>\n
United States Embassy spokesman Stanley Harsha said a member
\nof its consular staff would continue to stay in Aceh to accompany
\nNessen during the ongoing legal process to ensure that none of
\nNessen's civil rights were violated during the proceedings.<\/p>\n
Harsha said that Nessen entered Indonesia with a valid
\njournalist visa and he was doing his job as a reporter in Aceh.<\/p>\n
\"I do know that he was here with a journalist visa and he was
\nin Aceh as a journalist doing the common things that a journalist
\ndoes,\" Harsha told the Post.<\/p>\n
Amir Syamsuddin said that he expected the interrogation
\nagainst Nessen would be completed in the next few days.<\/p>\n
\"As soon as the police complete the questioning, I will refile
\nmy request to the police to suspend his detention,\" the lawyer
\nremarked.<\/p>\n
The police had earlier denied a similar request.<\/p>\n
Under martial law, the authorities can detain a suspect or a
\nwitness for up to 20 days, after which the police may extend the
\ndetention period.<\/p>\n
Amir also said that during the investigation, Nessen was also
\nquestioned as a witness in other cases related to GAM leaders,
\nwho the authorities claim have been well-acquainted with the
\nAmerican.<\/p>\n
\"I don't have clear information about the other cases he was
\nasked about,\" the lawyer said.<\/p>\n
Another source told the Post that Nessen was questioned as a
\nwitness in a case against Irwandi Jusuf, allegedly a GAM
\nspokesman who sent out GAM statements to the media.<\/p>\n
Irwandi was arrested in Jakarta earlier this month.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/nessens-mother-wants-to-see-detained-son-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }