Two foreign women still being held in Aceh

Ibnu Mat Noor, The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh

Police investigators intensified their questioning of a U.S. nurse and a British academic on Monday but their status remained unclear five days after they were apprehended in Bundeng village, South Aceh.

Aceh police spokesman Comr. Taufik Sutiono told The Jakarta Post Monday that American Joy Lee Sadler, 42, and British academic Lesley Jane McCulloch, 42, were being investigated for activities incompatible with their tourist visas.

"We cannot say as yet since we have to carry out further investigations," Taufik said when asked if the two had been declared suspects.

Sadler, a retired health worker from Waterloo, Iowa, and McCulloch, a British who teaches at Tasmania University, were taken into police custody Wednesday in Bundeng village, South Aceh, along with their translator, an Acehnese named Fitra M. Amin, because of what police called "suspicious activities" in the area.

It is not yet clear why Sadler and McCulloch were traveling through the war-torn province, where the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) has been fighting for independence against Jakarta since 1976, a conflict which has claimed thousands of innocent lives.

Taufik said police authorities found several documents about the activities of GAM with the women, but did not elaborate.

Sadler, McCulloch and their translator were taken to Medan on Sunday.

"They are now on the way to Banda Aceh from Medan via a police car," Taufik said. He said the three would be taken to Aceh police headquarters directly for more intensive questioning.

Meanwhile, U.S. and British diplomats flew to Banda Aceh Monday to try to secure access to the detainees.

A U.S. embassy spokesman said the embassy requested access to Sadler shortly after her detention was reported several days ago, but it has still not been granted.

The British embassy had encountered similar difficulties in meeting with McCulloch and ensuring she has a lawyer to represent her, an official said.

"We are actively trying to contact Lesley," the official told AFP. He said British diplomats have spoken to the provincial police chief and Indonesia's foreign affairs ministry.

"She's definitely being detained," the embassy official said.