SIRA head gets one year in jail
Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The Central Jakarta District Court sentenced the Aceh Referendum Information Center (SIRA)'s Jakarta office chairman, Faisal Syaifuddin, to a year in prison on Wednesday after finding him guilty of spreading hatred and hostility against the Indonesian government.
The panel of judges, chaired by Iskandar Tjakke, stated in its verdict that Faisal, 32, was guilty as charged as he had staged rallies outside the United Nations building on Jl. M.H. Thamrin, Central Jakarta, in November and December 2000.
During the rallies, Faisal, along with other SIRA demonstrators, distributed posters which could endanger the country's unity, Iskandar said in the verdict.
The sentence was less than the two-year sentence demanded by prosecutor Ramdanu Dwiyantoro.
After listening to the verdict, the heavily bearded Faisal, who was clad in a brown shirt and peci (Islamic cap), stated that he would appeal. He also rejected the impression created during the trial that SIRA was closely linked to the Free Aceh Movement (GAM).
Faisal's lawyer Johnson Panjaitan of the Indonesian Legal Aid and Human Rights Association (PBHI), said his client had previously been accused of involvement in a bomb blast in Manggarai, South Jakarta, in 2001, which was linked to SIRA. But later, due to lack of evidence, the charge against Faisal was converted to his involvement in the demonstration.
He also criticized the charging of his client under article 154 of the Criminal Code on spreading hatred. He said that this article had been adopted during the colonial period to deal with pro-independence activists.
Before the trial began at 12:39 p.m., about 30 members of SIRA bearing posters and placards staged a rally at the courthouse to demand that the court set Faisal free.
Among those in attendance at the court were Sri Bintang Pamungkas, chairman of the Indonesian Union Democratic Party (PUDI). About 30 police officers carrying rifles were deployed at the courthouse to prevent trouble.