GAM negotiators get sentence cut

BANDUNG: Three former negotiators for the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) rebel group were among 41,907 inmates who had their prison terms reduced to mark the Idul Fitri holiday.

The government cut on Monday the prison terms of Tengku Kamaruzzaman bin Tengku Syahbuddin, Amni bin Ahmad Marzuki and Tengku Muhammad Usman bin Usman between 15 days and one month, along with 14 other GAM members now jailed in Sukamiskin penitentiary here.

Minister of Justice and Human Rights Hamid Awaluddin announced the remission awarded to inmates across the country in a ceremony at Cipinang penitentiary in Jakarta. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono also attended the event.

Of the inmates who received reductions, 1,691 of them were immediately back into society. -- Antara