American nurse freed after serving four months in jail
Ibnu Mat Noor, The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh
American nurse Joy Lee Sadler, who was jailed for visa violations in the troubled province of Aceh, was released on Friday after serving her four-month jail term in the provincial capital of Banda Aceh.
Sadler, 57, was greeted by Samantha Yoder from the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta and her lawyers from Aceh upon her release.
"I am very sad because I'm leaving the Acehnese people and I will be back to Aceh immediately. I will be right back," pale- looking Sadler said soon after she left jail.
An Aceh district court found Sadler and her British traveling mate Lesley McCulloch guilty of visa offenses on Dec. 30, and sentenced them to four and five months in jail, respectively.
The time they had already spent in detention was deducted from their jail terms.
She said that she had to go to a hospital first to receive a blood transfusion, and then planned to make TV shows and raise money for the Acehnese people.
Sadler, who went on a hunger strike to protest what she called "unfair legal proceedings", said during a short interview that she would also tell the U.S. Congress that an American-made gun given to the Indonesian military (TNI) had been pointed at the head of an American citizen. "It's crazy," she said.
She also said that human rights abuses must be swept away from Acehnese soil.
Sadler then went to Iskandar Muda Airport and flew to Medan in the neighboring province of North Sumatra, to catch a flight to Kuala Lumpur and then to the United States.
Meantime, McCulloch, 42, said she was happy with the release of Sadler, who had an HIV-related disease and hepatitis.
"She (Sadler) needs the doctors. It's much better for her to get medical help and speak to the media overseas about the situation in Aceh, and then prepare to come back," McCulloch said.
Sadler and McCulloch were arrested in Keude Rundeng Kluet Village in South Aceh on Sept. 11. They brought a laptop, photographs of suspected GAM members, transcripts of interviews with refugees, and a map denoting TNI checkpoints throughout Aceh.
Article 50 of Immigration Law No.9/1992 stipulates that foreigners who intend to misuse or carry out activities not in line with the immigration permit given to them face a maximum penalty of five years in jail, or a Rp 25 million (US$2,800) fine.
Prosecutors said both women took photographs, gathered data and documents, and provided medical treatment to villagers when they were supposed to be on a tourist trip.
The women had told the court they had no plans to visit rebel- held areas, but could not refuse when armed men took them there.
Although the court found them guilty, both Sadler and McCulloch denied any wrongdoing. They did not appeal, however, saying that the process would take too long.
McCulloch, who is expected to be released in February, said that she could face another month in jail. "But I can tell you that Joy and I are not guilty. There is a political motive behind my arrest," she added.