Prosecutor wants one-year prison sentence for Eurico

JAKARTA (JP): Prosecutors asked the court on Thursday to sentence East Timorese militia leader Eurico Guterres to one year in prison for instigating violence.

Chief prosecutor Hamka Minhadj told the North Jakarta District Court on Thursday that Eurico was guilty of provoking an assault on authorities during a Sept. 24 incident in Atambua, East Nusa Tenggara.

The prosecutor said Eurico urged his supporters to take back weapons that they had handed over to the police during a ceremony attended by Vice President Megawati Soekarnoputri.

Hamka said by his actions, Eurico violated Article 160 of the Criminal Code. The article carries a maximum punishment of life in prison.

Eurico has been detained since last October. Because the time a defendant is detained during trial counts toward any prison sentence he subsequently receives, if the court sentences Eurico to one year in prison he could be released in October this year.

The 26-year-old father of three is also a suspect in human rights abuses in East Timor following the 1999 direct ballot in the territory.

Eurico has maintained that his activities as a militia leader were in defense of Indonesian unity.

After hearing the prosecution's sentence demand, Eurico said it was the highest honor ever shown him and all militia members.

"This is what I get for making sacrifices for the nation and the East Timorese. I was forced to save the country from the international embargo that would have been imposed if we did not hand over our weapons," he told the court.

Presiding judge Suwardi adjourned the trial until April 3, at which time the court will hear from the defense. (bby)