JAKARTA/GENEVA, May 4 (Hina) - An Indonesian court on Friday sentenced six men linked to the killing of three UNHCR workers from Croatia, the United States and Ethiopia to light prison sentences ranging from 10 to 20 months, which
provoked a very negative reaction of the UNHCR in Geneva, which believes the ruling "makes a mockery of the international community's insistence that justice be done in this horrific case."
JAKARTA/GENEVA, May 4 (Hina) - An Indonesian court on Friday
sentenced six men linked to the killing of three UNHCR workers from
Croatia, the United States and Ethiopia to light prison sentences
ranging from 10 to 20 months, which provoked a very negative
reaction of the UNHCR in Geneva, which believes the ruling "makes a
mockery of the international community's insistence that justice
be done in this horrific case." #L#
The victims of the attack include a 29-year-old resident of Split,
Pero Simundza, who had worked for the UNHCR in Croatia since 1993
and in 2000 left for West Timor, where he worked as a
telecommunication system operator.
The three UNHCR workers were killed on September 6, 2000 during an
attack of the pro-Indonesian East Timor militia on the border town
of Atambua in West Timor.
The three main indictees in the case faced the harshest sentence of
34 years in prison but none of them received more than 20 months
because they were not convicted of murder but of violence against
people and property.
Explaining the verdict, Judge Anak Agung Gede Dalem said it had not
been established that the indictees were linked to the death of the
UNHCR workers because the attack had been carried out by a crowd.
The indictees have been in prison since last September and the time
spent in prison will be calculated into their sentences.
The UNHCR headquarters in Geneva issued a press release saying the
verdicts are a mockery of the international community's efforts to
punish those responsible for the crime. The UNHCR said it would
carefully consider this "deeply disturbing" verdict and decide
about further legal action.
The killing of the UNHCR workers caused general condemnation of
Indonesia and the international community threatened to withhold
its assistance.
Croatia's Ambassador to Indonesia, Boris Mitrovic, told Hina the
diplomatic community in Indonesia was appalled at the light
sentences. Mitrovic said he talked to some of his colleagues and
foreign reporters in Jakarta who were all "appalled" at the
verdicts.
The Croatian Embassy in Indonesia, which lodged a protest note to
the Indonesian foreign minister after last year's attack, will in
the coming days consider further action regarding the verdicts.
Pero Simundza, Carlos Caceres-Collazo from the United States and
Samson Aregahegno from Ethiopia were hacked to death in a UNHCR
refugee camp in Atambua and their bodies were burned. After the
incident, the U.N. evacuated its personnel from West Timor.
(hina) rml