Two former GAM negotiators charged with terrorism<\/p>\n
Nani Farida and Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, The Jakarta Post,
\nBanda Aceh\/Lhokseumawe<\/p>\n
Two former negotiators for the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) went on
\ntrial in the Banda Aceh District Court on terrorism and treason
\ncharges on Thursday.<\/p>\n
Separately, four employees of a palm oil plantation who had
\nbeen held hostages for weeks, were freed after their abductors
\nwere involved in a firefight with security personnel in
\nMatangkuli, North Aceh.<\/p>\n
Sofyan Ibrahim Tiba and Nashiruddin bin Ahmed are accused of
\nviolating Articles 13 and 15 of Law No. 1\/2002 on terrorism and
\nArticle 55 of the Criminal Code on subversion. The charges carry
\na maximum sentence of death.<\/p>\n
The lead prosecutor said the pair were guilty of terrorist
\nacts of murder, bombings, shootings, abductions and extortion.<\/p>\n
The trial is being heard by a panel of judges presided over by
\nMaratua Ramdi, one of nine judges from North Sumatra who have
\nbeen drafted in to try alleged separatists in Aceh.<\/p>\n
Three other former GAM negotiators -- Teuku Kamaruzzaman,
\nTeuku Muhammad Usman and Amni bin Ahmad Marzuki -- went on trial
\non Tuesday on similar charges.<\/p>\n
Immediately after the charges were read out, Sofyan pleaded
\ninnocent to all charges.<\/p>\n
"I am just a negotiator representing GAM, not a GAM commander.
\nNone of the charges laid against me have any relation to myself.
\nThe charges are based on murky sources and unverified field
\ndata," he told the court.<\/p>\n
Sofyan said it made no sense to try the former negotiators for
\nterrorism and treason as "the negotiators were actually
\nvolunteers who tried to help build peace".<\/p>\n
He also filed an official protest with the court alleging the
\npolice "mistreated" him when he refused to sing Indonesia's
\nnational anthem, Indonesia Raya.<\/p>\n
Sofyan's lawyer Munarman, of the Indonesian Legal Aid
\nInstitute, demanded his client be acquitted of all charges, which
\nhe described as "very vague".<\/p>\n
"We request the judges acquit the defendant of all charges as
\nthe prosecutors have mixed up political aspects with legal ones,"
\nhe said.<\/p>\n
He said any crimes committed by rebels in the field were not
\nacts of terror, and could not be blamed on the defendants.<\/p>\n
The lawyer also said that the antiterrorism law was passed in
\n2002 and could not be applied to his client as the crimes he was
\naccused of took place before the law was passed.<\/p>\n
The trial was adjourned until Aug. 5, when the court will hear
\nfrom the prosecution.<\/p>\n
Two of the four released hostages, Saiful and Hamrizal, who
\nare employees of PTP Nusantara I in Cot Girek, were ordered by
\ntheir kidnappers to run as a separate gunfight between a unit of
\nthe Army's Special Forces and dozens of GAM members took place in
\nLupuk Badak village in Matangkuli district.<\/p>\n
They ran for three hours before meeting a military patrol,
\nwhich later found the two other hostages, Yonizam, 40, and Jalil
\nHanafiah, 45, at a GAM headquarters deep in the hilly area. They
\nwere taken to the Lhokseumawe-based military operation command
\nfor questioning.<\/p>\n
According to the hostages, they were well treated by the
\nkidnappers, who were all under 25 years old.<\/p>\n
"They said we had done nothing wrong. They just wanted to use
\nus as a shield should there be a military attack. They also said
\nwe were taken hostage as the company we work for failed to pay Rp
\n200 million to GAM," Hamrizal said.<\/p>\n
In other developments, the military denied reports that the
\nGAM leader in Pase, Tengku Jamaika, was still alive, insisting he
\nwas killed on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Military operation command spokesman Lt. Col. Ahmad Yani
\nBasuki said that the operation command had gone through reliable
\nprocedures to confirm Jamaika's identity.<\/p>\n
"A village chief and other GAM members arrested during the
\noperation confirmed that the dead man was Jamaluddin Kandang. Let
\nothers doubt it but we are sure that the dead man is Tengku
\nJamaika, the spokesman for their Pase military command," said
\nYani.<\/p>\n
Relatives of the dead man confirmed on Thursday that his name
\nwas Jamaluddin Yahya.<\/p>\n
Eyebox:<\/p>\n
Law No. 1\/2002 on terrorism<\/p>\n
Article 13 states that anyone who supports terrorists
\nfinancially, or who houses terrorists or who conceals information
\non terrorist acts can be punished with a maximum of 15 years in
\nprison.<\/p>\n
Article 15 stipulates that anyone involved in "criminal
\nconspiracy", or who aids terrorist acts can receive a sentence of
\nup to death, or life imprisonment.<\/p>",
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