Court jails 9 suspects over Flores insident
Court jails 9 suspects over Flores insident
Yemris Fointuna, Kupang
The Kupang District Court sentenced nine civilian defendants on
Friday to one year in prison each for their involvement in last
year's attack on a court building and prosecutor's office on
Flores Island, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT).
The defendants were found guilty beyond all reasonable doubt
of violating Article 170 of the Criminal Code over the attack on
Nov. 15, 2003 in Larantuka, the capital city of East Flores
regency.
Prosecutor Samuel Say demanded only one-year jail terms for
three defendants -- Marthinus Mangu, 52, John Ricardo, 29, and
Rafael Sinung Jaya Lamanepa, 36.
In a separate trial, prosecutors Hanoch Amalo and I Ketut
Sukada sought 18 months in prison for six other suspects --
Sebastianus F. Langkamau, 32, Wilhelmus Langkamau, 34, Filipus
Tobi, 38, Benediktus Langkamau, 29, Wempi Langkamau, 25, and
Thobis Muda Odjan, 28.
The nine defendants were being tried separately before the
same court, which was presided over by Hendri Silaen, accompanied
by judges Karlen Prialusi and Bernadeta Samosir.
Samuel Say said the prosecution accepted the verdicts on the
first group of three defendants, while the three's lawyers said
they planned to appeal.
In the trial of the group of six defendants, the prosecutors
said they would appeal the verdicts.
The courtroom was packed with spectators, mostly family
members of the defendants, with the area around the courthouse
being tightly guarded by one platoon of police.
Three other civilian suspects are still on trial for their
alleged involvement in the same attack on a courthouse shortly
after a judge convicted local Catholic leader, Father Frans
Amanuen, in a defamation case filed by East Flores Regent Felix
Fernandes.
All 12 suspects were also accused of setting fire to the
Larantuka Prosecutor's Office. No fatalities were reported in the
incident.
Father Amanuen was taken to court after he accused the East
Flores regent of being involved in marking up the price of a
multipurpose boat that was purchased by the local government. The
boat is said to have been worth Rp 3 billion (US$352,941).
In a local publication, Amanuen criticized the regent, saying
he had enriched himself through the purchase of the boat.
Regent Felix Fernandez then reported the outspoken priest to
the police for defamation.
A court later sentenced the priest to two months' imprisonment
and five months' probation.
His supporters, however, were enraged by the verdict, and went
on a rampage, setting fire to the state buildings.
Larantuka was last rocked by sectarian violence in 1995, when
an angry mob killed Taman, 47, a resident of Banyuwangi, East
Java, at Reinha Rosario Cathedral. Taman, who was a Protestant,
was accused of insulting the Catholic church during a sermon.
According to the 2000 census, 154,903 out of the 199,586
inhabitants of East Flores are Catholic.