Killers of Aa' Gym's students sentenced to life imprisonment

Yuli Tri Suwarni, The Jakarta Post, Bandung

Three people were sentenced to life imprisonment on Tuesday for killing two female students of popular Muslim preacher Abdullah Gymnastiar (Aa' Gym). The sentence was in accordance with prosecutor's demands read out earlier by S. Aworo.

Presiding judge Jihad Arkanuddin said that the stiff sentence handed down to Yas Robert, Jasmiko and Evan Roji was because it had been proven beyond reasonable doubt that they were guilty of robbery with violence causing death.

"The sentence is meant as a deterrent in order that such a tragic crime will not be repeated," said Jihad at the Bale district court in Bandung.

After the trial, a commotion broke out when a crowd of hundreds of people, mostly students from the Ahmad Yani Health Education High School (Stikes) where the murdered students were enrolled, rushed the three convicts and attacked them.

A policeman who tried to break up the fracas was hit by a student. Several students were detained, but later released.

As earlier reported, on Oct. 7, 2004 three female students from the Stikes school in Cimahi were attacked by seven thugs riding inside a public minivan. The students were returning from a Koran recital session at the Daarut Tauhid Islamic boarding school led by Aa' Gym in Gegerkalong, North Bandung. Two of the students, Ratih Rismayanti and Desi Sri Mulyati, were later found dead after being thrown into the Cisaat River with their hands tied behind their backs and gags in their mouths.

Indah Rahayu was able to free herself. The case attracted much public attention because of its particularly gruesome nature.

The three students had machetes placed at their necks and were threatened with rape if they screamed for help. The robbers then tied up their victims and threw them off a 20-meter high bridge into the Cisaat River.

The three convicts accepted the verdict, indicating that they would not be appealing the sentence.

Besides arresting the three convicts, police also shot dead a suspect in the same case, Yoki. Police are currently trying to find the other three suspects -- Dodi, Budi and Anto.