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)