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.