'No indication of espionage involving foreigners in Aceh'
'No indication of espionage involving foreigners in Aceh'
Nani Farida, The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh
Noted human rights lawyer Todung Mulya Lubis said on Friday
that detained Briton Lesley McCulloch and American Joy Lee Sadler
would not face charges of espionage as earlier reported, but
rather visa violation charges.
Todung said he had met with the Aceh Police's chief of
detectives, Adj. Sr. Comr. Surya Darma, and prosecutor Zainal
Said, and concluded that the charges against the two were built
around violations of their visas.
"Based on my visits (to the police and prosecutors), I am
convinced that McCulloch will only face charges of violating visa
regulations.
"There is no indication that this case will be widened into an
espionage issue as rumored," Todung told reporters after meeting
with McCulloch and Sadler.
During the meeting with the lawyers in a room used by the Aceh
Police's intelligence unit, McCulloch and Sadler were seen to be
in good health and conversed good-naturedly with police officers
and reporters.
Todung is one of a team of lawyers representing McCulloch, who
was detained last month together with Sadler during a security
operation in Keude Rundeng Kluet, South Aceh.
From the two women, officers allegedly seized pictures of
McCulloch with members of the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM)
and maps of military and police posts in the province.
Both McCulloch and Sadler denied links with the rebel group.
Todung argued that as a researcher, McCulloch had the right to
collect information for her research.
"There are many studies taking place in conflict zones
nowadays ... McCulloch was doing research on conflict management.
We should not mistake research activities for espionage," he
argued.
The detainees' lawyers, who include Johnson Panjaitan from the
Jakarta-based Indonesian Legal Aid and Human Rights Association
(PBHI) and Rufriadi of the Banda Aceh Legal Aid Institute, urged
the authorities to move the trial of the two from South Aceh to
Banda Aceh for security reasons.
"Hopefully the Supreme Court and the minister of justice and
human rights will grant our request," Todung said.
Meanwhile, the local prosecutors' office returned the case
files on McCulloch to the police for correction.
Rufriadi added that McCulloch would be questioned again by the
police so that the file could be improved.
The questioning would take one day and McCulloch would be
returned to prosecutors' custody on Monday.
The new questioning would center on two main questions, namely
McCulloch's identity, and the photos and documents found in her
possession, Rufriadi said.
Both women had earlier filed complaints against the security
forces alleging mistreatment during their captivity, including
sexual harassment.
Todung refused to comment on these complaints, saying that the
lawyers were focusing on the substance of the case.