Pro-independence students sentenced<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Four student activists from Irian Jaya were each
\nsentenced to three months and 25 days in jail for joining a
\ndemonstration outside the Dutch Embassy and the U.S. Embassy on
\nDec. 1, 2000.<\/p>\n
The verdict for Yoseph Wenda, 28, Mathius Rumbrapuk, 31, Laun
\nWenda, 24 and Hans Gobay, 23, was read out by presiding judge
\nAndi Sansan Nganro in Central Jakarta District Court on Tuesday
\nafternoon.<\/p>\n
However, the defendants would not be required to go to jail as
\nthey had been detained from Dec. 2, 2000 to March 26, 2001, or
\nfor a period of three months and 24 days.<\/p>\n
The prison term was shorter than prosecutor Maju Ambarita's
\ndemand of eight-months imprisonment.<\/p>\n
The judges gave the defendants a lighter sentence as the
\nprimary charges of subversion were not proven.<\/p>\n
\"There was no indication of subversion in this case,\" Andi
\nremarked.<\/p>\n
He said the defendants had violated Article 154 of the
\nCriminal Code by showing hostile intentions against the state in
\npublic.<\/p>\n
This was particularly based on the fact that instead of
\nstaging the demonstration at national institutes connected with
\nthe issue, they did it outside foreign embassies, according to
\nthe verdict.<\/p>\n
The right to demonstrate, Andi said, was allowed here based on
\nArticle 28 of the Constitution, which guarantees freedom of
\nexpression.<\/p>\n
However, the judges viewed that the defendants had voiced
\ntheir opinion in an unbalanced way and that what had been done by
\nthe defendants was \"too much\".<\/p>\n
Some mitigating factors considered in the handing down of the
\nverdict were that the defendants were still young and as
\nuniversity students, they were expected to develop Irian Jaya,
\nafter the completion of their studies.<\/p>\n
The other factor was that the defendants had apologized.<\/p>\n
Last year, more than 500 pro-independence Irianese student
\nactivists from Java and Bali held a demonstration outside the
\nDutch Embassy and the US Embassy, to celebrate what they claimed
\nto be the 39th anniversary of the declaration of independence in
\nPapua.<\/p>\n
It was also aimed at revealing the poor conditions under which
\npeople lived in the province. The students had demanded for more
\nattention to Irian Jaya.<\/p>\n
The activists gave speeches outside both embassies shouting
\ntheir demands.<\/p>\n
During the rally, they carried two flags symbolizing the
\nrising star, which is known as the flag of Free Papua. They also
\ncarried banners that read \"Free Papua\" and \"this is not red and
\nwhite, this is the rising star\".<\/p>\n
More than 20 Irianese students, who came from Salatiga,
\nSemarang, Yogyakarta, Bandung, Jakarta and Denpasar, attended
\nTuesday's trial to show their support for their colleagues. They
\nlooked relieved after hearing the verdict.<\/p>\n
However, the defendants' lawyer, Azas Tigor Nainggolan,
\ninsisted that they would appeal.<\/p>\n
\"The defendants deserve to be freed of any charges,\" he told
\nreporters after the trial, adding that the defendants were only
\nexpressing their opinion in public, which was not a crime. (04)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/pro-independence-students-sentenced-1447893297",
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