Egyptian jailed for immigration violations

Egyptian jailed for immigration violations

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The South Jakarta District Court sentenced an alleged people
smuggler on Wednesday to six months in jail for entering the
country illegally.

Defendant Mootaz Attia Mohammad Hasan, alias Jhon, who
allegedly organized an ill-fated shipment of hundreds of Middle
Eastern refugees bound for Australia last year, said he was still
considering whether to appeal.

"I will think about it," said the Egyptian, who is also known
as Abu Quassey.

The sentence was in accordance with the recommendation made by
chief prosecutor Tarsono last week.

According to the court, Mootaz was guilty of violating Article
53 of Law No. 9/1992 on immigration, which carries a maximum
penalty of six years imprisonment and a Rp 30 million fine.

Presiding Judge Rohendi told the court that the defendant, who
was arrested on Nov. 4 last year, was guilty of entering the
country illegally as the Immigration Directorate had declared him
a persona non grata until Feb. 2, 2002.

The court ordered Mootaz, who has been detained by the
immigration authorities for over 10 months, to serve his sentence
before being deported.

The 29-year-old was allegedly responsible for the deaths of
374 of the 418 Iraqis on board an unseaworthy vessel that sank
near Christmas Island. The boat was attempting to smuggle its
human cargo to Australia from Lampung.

The incident led to increased tension between Indonesia and
Australia.

But the state said it was unable to charge Mootaz with people
smuggling due to lack of legislation on the issue, even though
Mootaz was arrested for his alleged involvement in the tragedy.

Indonesia has long been a favorite transit point for boat
people heading to Australia and the United States due of its vast
territory and slack border controls.