American journalist declared a suspect
Nani Farida, The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh, Aceh
Aceh Police declared on Wednesday that American journalist William Nessen had violated visa regulations, an offense which may lead to his deportation.
The status of Nessen was announced following 24 hours of questioning, during which the freelancer was placed under police detention.
Aceh Police spokesman Adj. Sr. Comr. Sayed Hoesayni said an arrest warrant had been issued for Nessen who is being charged with violating Article 50 and Article 51 of Law No. 9/1992 on immigration which carries a maximum sentence of five years imprisonment or a Rp 25 million fine.
"We have to arrest him (Nessen) because of the violation and his stubbornness," Sayed told reporters, referring to the repeated calls from martial law administrator in Aceh for the journalist to leave the rebel base.
Under martial law, the military has the authority to detain Nessen for 20 days.
According to Sayed, Nessen also failed to inform the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as well as other local officials of his presence in Aceh, and even the U.S. Embassy had no knowledge about when Nessen had entered the country.
Nessen came to Indonesia as a journalist with the San Francisco Chronicle, but Sayed said that the New Yorker failed to prove it and to produce his passport. Nessen said he lost his passport when he was trapped in crossfire between government soldiers and Free Aceh Movement (GAM) separatists earlier this month.
Nessen had been with GAM rebels since last month. He defied a military order to leave the separatists by June 14, saying he needed assurance that he would not be jailed, interrogated or shot by the military troops.
The military had earlier accused Nessen of espionage.
He eventually gave himself up to the military in Nisam, North Aceh, on Tuesday.
During the questioning, U.S. Embassy deputy consul Samantha Carl, was seen accompanying Nessen.
"The questioning of Nessen is expected to reveal why he traveled with the rebels," Sayed said, adding that it would take the police two more days to complete.
The 46-year-old journalist, who is married to an Acehnese woman, was residing in East Jakarta's Kebun Nanas Selatan area before leaving for Aceh.
In Jakarta, Iman Santoso, the director general of immigration, said the government remained undecided whether or not to deport Nessen.
"The decision to deport Nessen depends on developments in Aceh. There must be reasons why they are considering his deportation," Iman told reporters after a meeting on Aceh issues at the office of the coordinating minister for security and political affairs.