| ||
| ||
| ||
 |
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Surprise verdict in E. Timor trial
JAKARTA, Indonesia -- The most senior military figure to face trial for crimes against humanity in East Timor has been given a three-year jail term over the bloodshed during East Timor's independence vote. The Indonesian Ad Hoc Human Rights Tribunal handed down its verdict in Jakarta on Tuesday in the trial of Maj. Gen. Adam Damiri, reported Reuters news agency. Damiri was widely expected to be acquitted in a trial described by international rights groups and Timorese as a government-sponsored whitewash. The prosecution itself had requested the charges be dropped due to lack of evidence. In 1999 General Damiri was commander of the military region which included East Timor. He was found guilty of failing to prevent the violence which swept the territory four years ago, leaving more than a 1,000 people dead during East Timor's United Nations-brokered referendum on independence. The special court established to investigate human rights abuses in the former Indonesian province has so now convicted a six suspects from an original list of 18. The first trials started more than a year ago and all of those found guilty remain free pending appeals. The toughest sentence of 10 years in prison was handed down to Eurico Gutierres, leader of a pro-Jakarta militia gang. Damiri's verdict brought the series of trials to a close. Damiri, wearing his general's uniform, said nothing to reporters when he arrived in the courtroom, which was packed with his supporters, The Associated Press reported. U.N. officials have said that the militia gangs that committed most of the atrocities were trained, equipped and commanded by the Indonesian army. Jakarta convened the trials amid intense international pressure to deliver justice. The United Nations has raised the possibility of setting up a war crimes tribunal for East Timor, like those held for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia, if the Indonesian justice system failed to live up to international expectations. Copyright 2003 CNN. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
