Rebel leader jailed for 17 years
Teuku Agam Muzakir, The Jakarta Post, Lhokseumawe, Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam
The Lhokseumawe District Court sentenced on Saturday a commander of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM)'s armed wing to 17 years in prison for treason, illegal arms possession and extortion.
It was the first time since martial law was imposed almost six months ago an armed rebel leader has been convicted and sent to jail.
Presiding judge Rahmawati said the defendant, Mustafa Ibrahim, the GAM district commander for the Cot Keupula area, had threatened and extorted money from a number of individuals and companies, including PT Lamurindo and PT Pita Gas. The amount of money involved was Rp 225 million (US$26,470) since 1998.
"Ibrahim was proven guilty beyond all reasonable doubt of treason, arms possessing and extortion," Rahmawati told the court during a session that was tightly guarded by security personnel.
The prosecution had demanded the death sentence, but the panel of judges said they took into account the defendant's remorse and promise to leave the rebel group.
Another mitigating factor, according to Rahmawati, was the fact that Ibrahim had a wife and children to support.
Rahmawati said Ibrahim was installed as the district commander by his superior, the GAM commander in Pase, Sofyan Dawood, who is still leading the rebellion.
The judge said the defendant was illegally in possession of a Baretta gun and led 120 rebels armed with various types of weapons, including AK-47s, M-16s, sten guns and pistols. As a district commander, Ibrahim received Rp 2 million as a monthly salary from GAM,
Ibrahim said he would appeal the verdict, which he said was too heavy.
His defense lawyers, Amna Jasinar and Tri Atnuari, agreed, saying the sentence was far heavier than that imposed on another rebel leader, Xanana Gusmao, who was jailed for seven years in the early 1990s for leading the independence movement in East Timor when that country was still under Jakarta's control.
The lawyers, who were appointed by the state, said Ibrahim was just a military district commander of GAM, not one of the rebels group's top brass.
Separately, the Banda Aceh District Court sentenced Lasmadi M. Namin, the president of private firm CV Nanggroe Aceh Makmur, to 32 months in jail for treason.
Presiding judge Firza Adriansyah said the defendant had been found guilty of supporting GAM by raising money for the separatist movement.
Firza said Lasmadi, along with other GAM members, extorted Rp 500,000 from Aceh Besar councillor Cut Ali Usman.
The verdict was lighter than the prosecutors' recommendation of 48 months in jail. However, the defendant appealed the verdict, maintaining that he was innocent.
Two weeks ago, the same court sentenced Iswandi Yusuf alias Teungku Isnandar Al-Pase, a GAM campaigner, to seven years in jail for treason.
On the battlefield, the military claimed it killed 16 rebels and captured another in a series of gunfights across the province.
Military operation spokesman Lt. Col. Ahmad Yani Basuki on Saturday said two of the dead rebels were women who were killed in a shoot-out on Friday.
Of 16 rebels, only four were in possession of identity cards and thus could be identified, Antara reported.