10 more soldiers sentenced up to 30 months for Binjai attack

Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Medan, North Sumatra

Another group of 10 soldiers in North Sumatra have been jailed for between 12 months and two-and-a-half years for their involvement in a two-day attack on two police stations here last September, in which 12 people were killed.

The verdict handed down on Tuesday by the Medan military tribunal in North Sumatra was lighter than that demanded by prosecutors who sought between two years and three years and five months in prison for the defendants.

The convicts and the military prosecutors said they were both considering filing appeals against the ruling.

The panel of judges said the soldiers, all members of the Army's Airborne unit in the town of Binjai, were found guilty of conspiring to attack the Langkat police station and the Binjai Police Mobile Brigade (Brimob) headquarters on Sept. 29 and Sept. 30.

Binjai, some 22 kilometers northwest of Medan, is the capital city of Langkat regency.

The defendants were proven guilty of violating Article 351 of the Criminal Code and Article 1 of Emergency Law No. 12/1951, the judges added.

Only Amru Daulay and Djamaluddin, both second sergeants charged with masterminding the violence that killed eight policemen, one soldier and three civilians, received two-and-a- half years imprisonment.

"Second Sgt. Amru Daulay and Second Sgt. Djamaluddin had deployed other soldiers to seize arms from the warehouse, while sounding an alarm to declare the start of the attack," presiding judge T.R. Samosir said.

Three other troops -- First Pvt. Iskandar Gurusinga, First Pvt. M. Badai Samudra Purba and Second Pvt. Fadli -- were all sentenced to two years in jail, while First Sgt. Irwandy was jailed for 18 months. The most lenient sentence of 12 months was handed down for First Sgt. Juwahir, First Sgt. Suryadi, Pvt. Mulyadi and Pvt. Heri Purnawan.

Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ryamizard Ryacudu gave 20 soldiers a dishonorable discharge, including the 10 convicted defendants, three days after the attack.

Samosir admitted that the court took into consideration the Oct. 2 dismissal announced by the Army chief when issuing the sentences.

"The panel of judges consider that the dismissals have a more serious influence on the defendants because it relates to their future and that of their families," he argued.

The judges handed down light sentences because the defendants admitted their wrongdoings and had served in previous assignments in Aceh and East Timor, he added.

Earlier on Dec. 18, the same court also sentenced nine soldiers to between five months and 18 months in jail for their role in the Sept. 29 and Sept. 30 assault.

Military prosecutors had demanded a 18-year sentence for the nine soldiers -- Pvt. Edi Satriawan, Pvt. Hermansyah, Pvt. Darwin, Pvt. Aswinuddin Tanjung, Pvt. M. Aswin, Pvt. Amri, Sgt. Hermansyah Pohan, Pvt. Hilman and Pvt. Heri Handoko.

Military prosecutors said on Tuesday that trials for scores of other suspects, including the chief of the Army's local battalion Maj. Madsuni, would also start soon.

The judges noted that the attack was prompted by solidarity among Army members independent of their military command.

The incident was triggered by the police's refusal to comply with the soldiers' demand to release a suspected drug dealer on Sept. 28. In retaliation, three truckloads of soldiers from the Army's 100 Prajurit Setia Airborne unit launched an attack on the Langkat police station and occupied it shortly afterwards.

The soldiers, who met little resistance from the police, burned down the station along with eight police cars and 25 motorbikes, which had been confiscated for traffic violations.

Hours later, the same troops attacked the headquarters of the police's Brimob elite force on Jl. Soekarno Hatta, around one kilometer from Langkat police station.

The soldiers fired rockets at the Brimob headquarters, which was guarded by only 10 police personnel, as most Brimob members were on duty in the neighboring Aceh province. A number of motorcycles and two cars were set ablaze and at least 61 detainees escaped from the police station.

Binjai's 216,000 residents stayed indoors following the attack, leaving the streets almost deserted and the majority of shops closed.