Jail term sought for religious minister

Jail term sought for religious minister

JAKARTA: An Indonesian prosecutor called Monday for a
Christian priest to be jailed for five years for allegedly
possessing guns in a strife-torn district of Central Sulawesi
province.

Prosecutor I Putu Gde Jeladha Palu said Renaldy Damanik, 44,
had been proven guilty of possessing three home-made rifles and
144 rounds of ammunition.

Renaldy, 44, general secretary of the Christian Church Synod
of Central Sulawesi, is a vocal Christian community leader in the
Poso district.

Intermittent sectarian clashes between Muslims and Christians
which broke out in 2000 in the district left up to 1,000 people
dead.

Putu Gde said the firearms and ammunition were found in
Renaldy's car when police searched it in August last year.

Renaldy has accused the police of planting the weapons. He
said there were no witnesses to the alleged discovery of the
guns.

The priest has been a strong critic of the security forces
handling of the violence in Poso, often accusing them of taking
sides.

The court hearing resumes on June 9, Judge I Nyoman Somanada
told AFP from the provincial capital of Palu. --AFP