Labor activists get stiffer terms

Labor activists get stiffer terms

MEDAN, North Sumatra: The North Sumatra High Court has raised
the jail term for labor activist Mochtar Pakpahan from three to
four years for his role in a massive riot in April last year.

"The sentence meted out by the lower court was too light in
comparison to the crime he committed," Judge Nurat Ginting said
in his ruling.

Mochtar, the chairman of the Indonesian Prosperous Labor
Union, was found guilty by the Medan court of inciting workers to
commit violence during the demonstration that left one person
dead.

The state prosecutors had initially demanded a four-year jail
term. They filed an appeal immediately after the verdict by the
lower court. Mochtar also appealed, demanding a lighter sentence.

The court also raised the jail term for Amosi Telaumbanus,
another labor activist convicted of the same crime, from 15
months to three years. (24)