Police submit dossiers of McCulloch, Sadler today

Nani Farida, The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh

The dossiers of British academic Lesley McCulloch and American nurse Joy Lee Sadler will be submitted to the Banda Aceh district prosecution office on Monday, one of their lawyers has said.

"The questioning of Lesley and Joy Lee was already completed several days ago," lawyer Afridal Darmi told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.

Afridal said the dossiers revolved around their "illegal" presence in South Aceh, which, according to the police, was a violation of their tourist visas.

"If they were charged with visa violations, they could face a maximum jail sentence of five years or a fine of Rp 25 million," Afridal said.

The Post tried to obtain confirmation from police investigators on Sunday but all were out of reach, with their cellular phones switched off.

Usually it takes at least two weeks for state prosecutors to bring a charge against a suspect. They could also return a dossier to police investigators if they were considered to be incomplete.

Police said earlier that McCulloch and Sadler had violated their tourist visas but they were also looking into more serious charges against the two.

McCulloch and Sadler were arrested in Keude Rundeng Kluet, South Aceh, on Sept. 11 and charged with visa violation only six days later.

The country's criminal code stipulates that a detainee must be charged within 24 hours or must be released.

Both McCulloch and Sadler are currently in detention at the Aceh Police headquarters in Banda Aceh.

The police also alleged that they had found materials relating to the activities of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) in the bags of McCulloch and Sadler, a charge the two foreign women have consistently denied.

Thousands of people have been killed, mostly civilians, since GAM declared a war for independence in 1976.

According to Afridal, the two detainees were still healthy.

"Lesley looked worried and traumatized by previous incidents," Afridal said.

McCulloch and Sadler alleged that they were maltreated, including sexually harassed, by security personnel during their detention at a police station in South Aceh and vowed to take their case to court.

The police have denied the allegation.

Meanwhile, Imam Syafii Saragih told the Post on Sunday that he had been appointed by the U.S. Embassy on Sept. 25 as Joy Lee's lawyer.