Alleged GAM bombers go on trial
Alleged GAM bombers go on trial
Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Medan, North Sumatra
The Medan district court is scheduled to begin the trial next
week in Medan of 11 alleged members of the Free Aceh Movement
(GAM) on charges of planting bombs in three separate locations in
Medan last year and early this year.
This was announced on Wednesday by the president of the Medan
District Court, Sulthoni Muhdally, after he received the files on
the 11 defendants from the head of the Medan prosecutors' office,
Nawir Annas.
"If there are no holdups, the first trial will begin next
week," Sulthoni told reporters at his office, adding that he
would soon appoint the judges to preside over the trials.
The 11 defendants would be tried separately, he said.
Security, provided by both police and soldiers, would be
tight, with only a limited number of spectators being allowed
into each courtroom.
To enable those spectators excluded from the courtrooms to
witness the trials, the district court would provide closed
circuit televisions outside.
According to Sulthoni, the district court would begin on
Thursday arranging the schedule for the trials of the 11
defendants and the judges who will hear them.
Meanwhile, Nawir said that the Medan prosecutors' office would
charge eight out of the 11 defendants with terrorism under
Antiterrorism Law No. 15/2003.
The three other defendants would be charged with treason under
State Emergency Law No. 23/1959 and the Criminal Code, he said.
"All the charges carry the death sentence. But, whether they
will get death depends on what happens in court," Nawir told The
Jakarta Post.
The eight defendants charged with terrorism are alleged to
have been involved in a bomb blast that occurred in the parking
lot of Medan City Hall on March 31, and another one at a gas
installation belonging to state-owned oil and gas company
Pertamina on Jl. Yos Sudarso here on April 1. No fatalities were
reported in either incident.
These eight defendants are Deli Manaf Abdi, 62, the alleged
GAM commander overseeing Medan; Tengku Johan, 68, an alleged GAM
spiritual leader; Masrul, 40, the alleged GAM military commander
overseeing the Medan-Deli area; Ridwan, 34, an alleged GAM
intelligence operative in the Medan-Deli area; and three other
alleged members of GAM operating in the Medan-Deli area Musliadi,
25, Anwar Adam, 32 and Tengku Said Azhar, 40.
Meanwhile, the three defendants charged with treason are
alleged to have been involved in a bomb blast at the Hotel Best
Western Asean International on Aug. 17 last year. No casualties
were reported in the blast.
The three defendants are Muhammad Yahya, 48, the alleged GAM
deputy commander overseeing the Medan-Deli area, Abdullah bin
Sulaiman, 39, an alleged GAM intelligence operative and Teuku
Mustafa Halim, 45, an alleged GAM treasurer.
All 11 defendants are now being detained at the Tanjung Gusta
penitentiary in Medan.
Nawir said that the Medan prosecutors' office had appointed
four of its staff to prosecute the 11 defendants.