Killer of rector gets 17 years

Killer of rector gets 17 years

Nani Farida, The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh, Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam

The Banda Aceh District Court sentenced suspected Acehnese rebel
Mahyiddin alias Raja Preman, 25, to 17 years in prison for
murdering Syiah Kuala University (Unsyiah) rector Dayan Dawood in
2001.

The sentence was less than the 20 years the prosecutors
demanded.

Mahyiddin was found guilty of violating Article 340 of the
Criminal Code on premeditated murder and treason, and Emergency
Law No. 12/1951 on illegal arms possession.

The panel of judges, led by Edi Mustianto, said Mahyiddin was
unquestionably proven to have killed the Unsyiah rector in
September 2001.

Dayan was murdered because he did not support the Free Aceh
Movement (GAM), the judges said quoting witnesses.

They said the victim was considered to have failed to meet his
alleged promise to pay 8 percent of the campus' development fees
to GAM.

The murder was also aimed at drawing international support for
GAM's violent campaign for Aceh's independence from Indonesia,
the court added.

Mahyiddin appeared calm upon hearing the verdict. He and his
lawyer, Khairuddin Zakas, said they would consider appealing
against the court decision.

The judges said they sentenced Mahyiddin to 17 years because
he gave complicated testimony and because the rector was a
significant asset to the nation.

When handing down the sentence, the court also took into
account the defendant's courteousness in court.

The judges also returned a sedan to Unsyiah. The car, in which
the rector was riding when he was shot dead, was used as evidence
in the trial.

The court also ordered the state to confiscate a revolver and
16 rounds of ammunition used by Mahyiddin in the murder.