Nine Maluku separatists get prison for treason<\/p>\n
Muhammad Azis Tunny, The Jakarta Post, Ambon, Maluku<\/p>\n
The Ambon District Court sentenced nine activists of the
\nseparatist South Maluku Republic (RMS) group on Monday to between
\n30 months and 15 years in jail for treason.<\/p>\n
Armed forces chief of the RMS emergency government Jhon Rea
\nand his senior colleague Pieter Rea were jailed for 15 years
\nduring the trial.<\/p>\n
Six other defendants -- Polly Jefry Soulisa, Philipus Nurlatu,
\nElisa Roberto Mathenahoruw, Sandy Lolupua, Yohanis Tuhuteru and
\nReinhard Nanlohy -- received 13-year sentences.<\/p>\n
The panel of judges led by Kharlison Hariantja also sentenced
\nanother Malukan separatist Yosep Lesnussa to two years and six
\nmonths for the same offense.<\/p>\n
Kharlison said Jhon Rea and his members were found "guilty
\nbeyond reasonable doubt of committing treason" as they publicly
\ndeclared themselves "RMS citizens" and refused to recognize
\nIndonesia's sovereignty over Maluku province.<\/p>\n
"Nationally and internationally, Maluku is recognized as part
\nof the Unitary State of Indonesia. Therefore, it is clear what
\nJhon Rea and his group have done is a separatist act and cannot
\nbe justified," the presiding judge said.<\/p>\n
Prosecutors A. Sopaleuwakan and Devi Muskita had sought 15
\nyears in prison for Jhon Rea and Pieter and 13 years for the six
\nother defendants.<\/p>\n
The judges gave Yosep a lenient sentence after he expressed
\nregret for joining the RMS during his trial on Dec. 29, 2003.<\/p>\n
Yosep also told the court that he remains an Indonesian
\ncitizen and would not to repeat what he had done in the past.<\/p>\n
Jhon Rea and eight other defendants were arrested by police on
\nApril 19, 2003 after receiving a tipoff from local residents that
\nhe chaired "illegal meetings" of his group at his house in Batu
\nGajah, Sirimau subdistrict, Ambon.<\/p>\n
The police found important documents belonging to the
\nseparatist group during a raid on Jhon Rea's house.<\/p>\n
The documents included Jhon Rea's application for a visa to
\nBritain, the police said.<\/p>\n
Jhon Rea claimed the regular meetings that had been held since
\nJanuary 2002 were for religious prayers. But the police and the
\njudges brushed aside the claim.<\/p>\n
"The excuse that they had gathered for a religious service is
\nillogical because the meetings were only attended by those
\ninvolved in the structure of the RMS emergency government,"
\nKharlison told the court.<\/p>\n
He said the police found evidence during the raid that the RMS
\nwas preparing for the transfer of Maluku's sovereignty to the
\nseparatist group.<\/p>\n
"This is an act of treason," Kharlison added.<\/p>\n
Upon hearing the verdict, Jhon Rea said he was contemplating
\nan appeal. "I will let you know later," he told The Jakarta Post
\nafter the trial that was guarded by dozens of police officers.<\/p>\n
On Dec. 23, the same court had also sentenced nine other RMS
\nmembers to 16 months in jail for rebellion against the state.<\/p>\n
Presiding judge Lodewijk Tiwery said the defendants had
\nattended "clandestine meetings" aimed at consolidating the
\nsecessionist movement as well as strengthening the Maluku
\nSovereignty Front (FKM), a group affiliated to the RMS.<\/p>\n
The meetings were usually held on Mondays and Saturdays at a
\ncertain place in Alang village to prepare for the RMS anniversary
\non April 25, 2004, when they planned to hoist separatist flags,
\nhe added.<\/p>\n
During the meetings, the defendants prayed for FKM leader Alex
\nManuputty and his deputy Samuel "Semmy" Waileruny in order for
\nthem to be able to "free Maluku from the Unitary Republic of
\nIndonesia".<\/p>\n
Alex fled to the United States before his appeal against his
\nconviction was dismissed by the Supreme Court. Along with Semmy,
\nhe had been sentenced in early January by the North Jakarta
\nDistrict Court to three years in prison for plotting rebellion.<\/p>\n
The Jakarta High Court upheld the sentences.<\/p>\n
However, Maluku Police arrested Semmy on Monday and sent him
\nto Jakarta to serve his three-year prison term.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/nine-maluku-separatists-get-prison-for-treason-1447893297",
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