SIRA head gets one year in jail

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.