Palu court frees terror suspect

PALU, Central Sulawesi: A court here on Thursday acquitted a defendant of terrorism charges in connection with last year's assassination of prosecutor Ferry Silalahi.

The Palu District Court said Erwin Mardani, 23, had not been involved in the premeditated murder of Ferry.

The panel of judges, presided over by Judge M. Taufik, said the charge laid by prosecutors that Erwin had harbored another suspect in the shooting incident, Sofyan Djumpai alias Pian, had not been proven beyond all reasonable doubt.

"That's why, based on law and justice, we had to free him (Erwin)," Taufik told The Jakarta Post after the trial.

The same court had previously jailed Sofyan for only eight months after finding him guilty of possessing an unlicensed firearm linked to the murder case.

Another suspect, Emil Salim, is currently being tried by the court. He is charged with assassinating the prosecutor, who had once helped jail terror suspects in Central Sulawesi. Emil could get the death sentence if convicted. --JP