Nessen sentenced, but finally freed

Nessen sentenced, but finally freed

Nani Farida, The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh, Aceh

William Nessen, the 46-year-old American freelance journalist
detained in June while covering the separatist war in Aceh
province, was released on Sunday after spending 40 days in prison
for immigration offenses.

He left the provincial capital, Banda Aceh, at round 9:30
a.m., bound for Jakarta on a Garuda plane before planning to fly
home to New York. He was accompanied by his lawyer Amir
Syamsuddin, a U.S. diplomat and a relative.

"I am happy ... tomorrow, I will return to New York," Nessen
was quoted by AFP as saying shortly after arriving at Soekarno-
Hatta International Airport, Jakarta.

He said that he was "well" and added he was happy "everything
has been settled ... there is no problem anymore." He left the
airport for an undisclosed location with Syamsuddin.

Banda Aceh District Court sentenced Nessen on Saturday to one
month and 10 days in jail for immigration offenses. The time he
had already spent in detention -- one month and nine days -- was
deducted from the sentence, meaning Nessen could leave jail on
Sunday.

Asked whether he would write a book on his experiences on
Aceh, Nessen said he would think about it as he had lost his
journalist's equipment when he surrendered to soldiers in June.

"At the time I had to escape quickly during a gunfight and
abandoned my belongings there," he said.

Nessen accused the Indonesian Military (TNI) of confiscating
the equipment. "I hope the military will give me back all my
belongings."

Asked whether he would return to Aceh soon, Nessen said he
wanted to spend time with his parents in New York before making
any decision.

"I will have to think first about returning to Aceh," he said.

Nessen was arrested on June 24 when he turned himself in to
the military after traveling with members of the rebel Free Aceh
Movement (GAM) for three weeks.

Known to have good relations with the rebels, he was convicted
of violating the terms of his visa by establishing contact with
GAM members.

Nessen, who works for The San Francisco Chronicle and the
Sydney Morning Herald, also failed to report his whereabouts to
authorities and had an outdated home address on his visa, judges
said.

The military initially accused Nessen of spying for the
rebels, who have been fighting since 1976 for independence in
troubled Aceh.