Students ask for Nazar trial in Aceh

BANDA ACEH, Aceh: Students grouped under the Acehnese Network for Justice (JAMAK) staged a protest at the Banda Aceh district court on Thursday, demanding the trial of detained chief of the Aceh Referendum Information Center (SIRA) Muhammad Nazar be held in Aceh, instead of the Medan capital of North Sumatra.

"With the transfer of the court session to Medan, it shows that Jakarta can no longer control the situation in Aceh," they said.

The students marched to the court on Jl. Daud Beureueh around 11 a.m. on Thursday and demanded that Nazar be tried in Aceh.

Nazar, who is being detained at Banda Aceh Penitentiary, renewed on Thursday his strong rejection against the plan to move the venue for his trial to Medan.

"I will not settle for that," he said.

Indonesian Legal Aid Institute and Human Rights Association (PBHI) deputy chief Johnson Panjaitan said on Thursday that PBHI had sent a letter to the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights requesting that Nazar's trial be held in Aceh.

"They (government) have no grounds to hold the trial in Medan as the people here are more scared of the security forces than of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) rebels," he said.

Chairperson of the Banda Aceh court, Farida Hanoum, said on Tuesday that the justice minister had appointed a court in Medan to try Nazar due to a "lack of judges and security reasons in Aceh".

Nazar has been in detention since Nov. 20 last year for organizing a public congress to demand a referendum in Aceh.

He is being charged under Article 154 and 155 of the Criminal Code for showing hostile intentions/treason against the state, which carries a maximum sentence of seven years in jail. (50/edt)