Indonesian court hands down relatively light sentences, angering human rights activists. Seven members of Indonesia’s special forces were convicted Monday for their role in murdering a prominent Papuan independence leader, but the longest any of them will serve in prison is 3 1/2 years. A military court in the East Java city of Surabaya found the four officers and three soldiers of the Kopassus force guilty of involvement in the 2001 assassination of separatist leader Theys Eluay, who was abducted on his way home from a party at a military base and strangled. His body was found in his car along a remote jungle road. “The defendants have been legally and convincingly proven guilty of torturing [Eluay] to death,” declared Col. A. N. Yamini, the head judge. Lt. Col. Hartomo, the highest-ranking defendant and who, like many Indonesians, uses one name, was found guilty of instigating others to carry out the torture that resulted in Eluay’s death. He was sentenced to 3 1/2 years in prison. Pvt. Ahmad Zulfahmi, who allegedly confessed to strangling Eluay, was sentenced to three years. The others received sentences ranging from two to three years. Full Story
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