32 soldiers prosecuted in North Aceh

Teuku Agam Muzakir, The Jakarta Post, Lhokseumawe, Aceh

A total of 32 soldiers have committed crimes during military operations in the troubled province of Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam since May last year.

All the soldiers were under the command of the Aceh Military Operations Command (Koops TNI) based in Lhokseumawe, North Aceh.

Brig. Gen. George Toisutta, the chief of Koops TNI, said that of the 32 soldiers, 13 had been punished by the Banda Aceh military court, which oversees Aceh province.

"Of the 13, five are subject to military discipline, while eight others received jail sentences," said Toisutta.

He added that the remaining 19 were being prosecuted at the court martial in Lhokseumawe.

The judges are under the command of the Banda Aceh military court, but due to the distance involved, they have been deployed to Lhokseumawe to hold military trials in the city.

Military operations began in May last year, only a day after martial law was imposed by the government in Aceh province. It is unclear when the operations will come to an end.

Meanwhile, Toisutta said that the 32 soldiers were brought before a court martial because they had committed various crimes, including assault on local residents, rape, theft, traffic accident, insubordination, defying orders, losing firearms and extortion.

The highest ranks to appear were First. Lt. Erwin Kasirun, who was proven to have extorted passersby on an Aceh street and Maj. Edi Martadinata, who was sentenced for smuggling.

Toisutta asserted that the stiff sentences on the soldiers were aimed to be deterrent on other soldiers.

Toisutta leads tens of thousands of soldiers who have been deployed in Aceh during military operations in the area.