Army elite force members jailed for abductions
JAKARTA (JP): A military court sentenced 11 Army's Special Force (Kopassus) soldiers on Tuesday between one year and 22 months in jail for abducting nine political activists in the last month of Soeharto's regime.
The panel of judges, presided over by Col. Susanto, said that defendants were guilty of "collectively depriving freedom" of the activists.
"The defendants have committed disgraceful acts as they had carried out the detention of the activists which was beyond their authority," Susanto said.
The judges sentenced the highest-ranking defendant Maj. Bambang Kristiono to 22 months imprisonment and fired him from the Armed Forces (ABRI).
The court, also sentenced Capt. F.S. Multhazar, Capt. Nugroho Sulistyo Budi, Capt. Yulius Selvanus and Capt. Untung Budi Harto to 20 months imprisonment and dismissed them from the military.
The court also sentenced Capt. Dadang Hendra Yudha, Capt. Jaka Budi Utama and Capt. Fauka Noor Farid to 16 months imprisonment and the remaining three defendants, Chief Sgt. Sunaryo, Chief Sgt. Sigit Sugianto and Sgt. First Class Sukadi, to 12 months imprisonment.
"These defendants were not the key factors in the offense and they still can be cultivated to be good soldiers," Susanto said, explaining why they were not dismissed.
The sentence for Bambang was four months shorter than military prosecutor Col. Harom Wijaya had sought. The sentences against Multhazar, Yulius, Untung, Dadang, Jaka and Fauka were six months shorter.
The sentence for Nugroho was two months shorter and the sentences for the three sergeants were three months shorter than prosecutors' demands.
Deprivation of freedom under Article 333 of the Criminal Code carries a maximum penalty of eight years imprisonment.
Bambang and the seven captains rejected the court ruling and said they would appeal while the sergeants had yet to decide.
Susanto said the defendants, who had been involved in a number of military operations in the country's trouble spots of Aceh, Irian Jaya and East Timor, had tarnished the image of ABRI and Kopassus in particular.
"They have breached the Sapta Marga doctrine and the soldier's oath and they have also ruined the relationship between ABRI and the public," Susanto said.
The defendants have been arrested since mid-July 1998 and placed under house arrest since March 16 following the end of their maximum detention period.
Bambang had told the military court that he had established a "Rose Team" within Kopassus in July 1997 to arrest "radical activists" who he said were trying to sabotage the General Session of the People's Consultative Assembly in March last year.
One of nine former abduction victims, Pius Lustrilanang, remarked he had not believed in the trial since it started, "because (former president) Soeharto and top military officers who are the most responsible parties for the abductions are not brought to court," he told The Jakarta Post.
Pius, who is to be married on April 16, was present on Tuesday to personally deliver his wedding invitation to the defendants.
The nine were among 23 activists who were abducted by unidentified men since April 1997. They reported torture but this was not mentioned in the trial.
Thirteen others are still listed missing while the trial only focused on the nine victims. The association of relatives of missing persons, IKOHI, had said Monday that they will continue to seek the truth of their missing members, through, among others, cooperation with concerned political parties.
At the time of the abductions, the defendants were under the command of Soeharto's son-in-law Prabowo Subianto.
Prabowo was honorably discharged from the military last year while two other senior Kopassus officers, Maj. Gen. Muchdi Purwopranjono and Col. Chairawan, were also released from active duty for their alleged involvement in the abductions.
All these officers were not mentioned in the prosecution. Prabowo admitted before the Officer's Honor Council last August that he was involved in the abductions, and is known to be still in Jordan. (byg)