Two foreign women still being held in Aceh
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.