Nine soldiers sent to prison over deadly Binjai clash

Nine soldiers sent to prison over deadly Binjai clash

Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Medan

A military tribunal here sentenced on Wednesday nine soldiers to
between five months and two and a half years in prison for their
roles in a deadly attack against two police offices in Binjai,
North Sumatra, on Sept. 29 and 30 which killed 12 people, three
of whom were civilians.

Panel judges said the defendants were proven guilty of
violating Article 351 of the Criminal Code and Article 1 of
Emergency Law No. 12/1951.

The judges also ruled that each convict must pay legal
proceedings costs of Rp 3,000.

Upon hearing the verdict, all nine convicts -- after
consulting their lawyers -- said that they would file an appeal.

Pvt. Edi Satriawan, Pvt. Hermansyah and Pvt. Darwin received
the heaviest sentence of two and a half years imprisonment.

Pvt. Aswinuddin Tanjung, Pvt. M. Aswin and Pvt. Amri were
sentenced to two years in jail, while Sgt. Hermansyah Pohan got
one year, and Pvt. Hilman and Pvt. Heri Handoko both received
five months in prison.

The rulings were lighter than those demanded by military
prosecutors, who wanted the nine soldiers convicted with 18 years
behind bars.

In their verdict, the panel judges said that an additional
punishment of dismissal was not required because their
replacements had been announced by Army chief of staff Gen.
Ryamizard Ryacudu on Oct. 2 at a ceremony at Bukit Barisan
Military Command headquarters in Medan shortly after the clash.

Presiding judge Lt. Col. T.R. Samosir said the judges handed
down lighter sentences because all defendants admitted to their
wrongdoings and had served assignments previously in Aceh and
East Timor.

In his explanation, Samosir added Pvt. Hilman and Pvt. Heri
Handoko received the lightest sentences because they were only
involved in a minor clash with police officials on Sept. 28, one
day before the massive armed attack took place.

The panel judges noted that the attack by members of the
Army's airborne unit on Langkat police headquarters in Binjai and
the Binjai Mobile Brigade (Brimob) headquarters was prompted by
solidarity among corp members independent of any military
command.

Binjai is the capital of Langkat regency.

The incidents on Sept. 29 and Sept. 30 were sparked by the
police's refusal to comply with the soldiers' demands to release
a suspected drug dealer on Sept. 28. In retaliation, three
truckloads of soldiers from the Army's 100 Prajurit Setia
Airborne unit launched an attack on the Langkat police station
and occupied it shortly afterwards.

The soldiers, who met little resistance from the police,
burned the station along with eight police cars and 25
motorbikes, which had been confiscated for traffic violations.

Hours later, the same troops attacked the headquarters of the
police's Brimob elite force on Jl. Soekarno Hatta, around one
kilometer away from the Langkat police station.

The soldiers fired rockets at the Brimob headquarters, which
was guarded by only 10 police personnel, as most Brimob members
were on duty in neighboring Aceh province.

The battle forced Binjai's 216,000 residents to stay indoors
out of fear, with the town being almost completely deserted and
the majority of shops closed.

The convicts said they were disappointed with the resolution
to the dispute, and said it was unfair because Langkat
Intelligence police chief Adj. Comr. Togu Simanjuntak, who shot
Pvt. Abdur Rahman, was not punished.

They added that Bukit Barisan military chief Maj. Gen. Idris
Gassing had promised at that time to punish those involved in the
clash.