Five years sought for environmentalist

BANDA ACEH, Aceh: A prosecutor has recommended that the South Aceh District Court sentence environmentalist Bestari Raden, 45, to five years in prison for his alleged attempt to subvert national security and public order, a lawyer revealed on Friday.

Bambang Antariksa, the lawyer of Bestari, said that the demand was politically motivated. He argued that Bestari was merely trying to reject the controversial Ladia Galaska Highway project that traverses conservation forests in Aceh and North Sumatra province and that he should be acquitted of all charges.

The court session was held on Saturday last week in Tapaktuan, South Aceh regency. -- JP