Nine judges deployed to Aceh

MEDAN, North Sumatra: The government has sent nine judges to Aceh to try crimes related to separatist activities in the war-torn province.

The nine judges previously presiding in district courts in North Sumatra have been reassigned to Aceh after receiving notification of the move from Director General for District Court and State Administrative Court Affairs Soejatno.

Medan High Court Chief Slamet Riyanto said in Medan on Wednesday that the nine judges would occupy positions in district courts in Aceh for a three-month period in order to try crimes involving rebels in the province.

He conceded that he was unaware of criteria used by the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights in relocating the judges. However, he felt that several of the judges who were originally from Aceh were glad to be given the new assignment as it meant a return to their hometown.

The nine judges are Nazar Efriandi, Maratua Rambe, Fausul Hamdi, Hamdan Hasibuan, Musa Arief Aini, Maulana Sudarto, Agus Sunardi, Syaiful Aswir and Muhammad Irfan. --JP