'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.