Police look for heavier charges against Sadler and McCulloch
Police look for heavier charges against Sadler and McCulloch
Agencies, Jakarta
Aceh Police said on Monday that they would broaden their
investigation of a British academic and an American nurse in
their custody to include more serious offenses than simple visa
violations.
"We will widen the investigation to include heavier charges,"
Aceh Police spokesman Taufik Sutiyono told AFP.
The police also denied reports on Monday that one of the women
had become ill.
"The suspects are in good condition. The investigation is
proceeding without any problems, which means nobody is sick,"
Taufik told Reuters.
British lecturer Lesley McCulloch and American nurse Joy Lee
Sadler have been in police custody since Sept. 11, when security
forces stopped them and their translator in the South Aceh
District. Officers had allegedly found them with material linking
them to GAM, which has been fighting since 1976 for a separate
state on the tip of Sumatra.
Several journalists in Aceh said they had received a mobile
phone message from Briton McCulloch late on Sunday telling them
that her American colleague had become ill.
"Tonight, Joy sick. Heart-doc come with heart med," the
message read.
But the women's lawyer, Rufriadi, also said they were in good
health and denied that there had been a medical emergency.
"This morning I had some calls asking if one of the women had
had a heart attack. It's not true, and they're both healthy,"
said Rufriadi from the Aceh Legal Aid Institute.
Taufik said McCulloch and Sadler possessed video footage
showing activities of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and other
documents related to the rebels.
"We want to know for what purpose these items were to be
used," he said.
Until recently, McCulloch was a university lecturer in
Tasmania, Australia, and a frequent contributor on the Aceh
dispute to Asian newspapers.
Police accused the women of abusing their tourist visas, a
charge they deny.
Rufriadi said on Saturday that they had replied in writing to
about 30 questions from the police. The officers will review the
statements and decide whether they need to investigate further,
he said.
Police have said they were not considering deporting the women
and want to bring them to court in the province.
An estimated 10,000 people have died since GAM began its
struggle for independence in 1976. Rights activists say close to
1,000 people died this year in the civil conflict between GAM and
government forces.