Prosecutors to appeal acquittals of Indonesian officers
Thu Aug 22, 5:58 AM ET
Associated Press
JAKARTA, Indonesia - Indonesian prosecutors said Wednesday they plan to appeal the acquittal of six Indonesian army and police officers accused of inciting a wave of terror in East Timor.
"We will appeal in about two weeks since we disagree with judge's verdict that freed the officers," said Darmono, a state prosecutor who like many Indonesians uses only one name.
Indonesian law, like the European legal systems it's based on, gives both prosecutors and defendants the right of appeal.
Last week, special tribunals cleared a general and five other officers charged with allowing subordinates to take part in massacres in the former Indonesian province following a U.N.-organized independence referendum in 1999.
Judges found a former governor of East Timor guilty of abetting the bloodshed, but sentenced him to only three years in jail.
The verdicts outraged foreign governments and human rights groups, and prompted warnings that they could jeopardize efforts to re-establish military ties with the United States, which were severed as a result of the violence.
The trials so far have been deemed a farce by some foreign governments and rights activists. Evidence has been limited to a box of clothing and statements from a handful of Timorese witnesses too fearful to testify in person. Prosecutors have not produced any government documents or officials who could support their case.
In contrast, trials in East Timor of those accused of collaborating with marauding Indonesian troops have featured hundreds of witnesses, including U.N. officials. Physical evidence has included blood, weapons, burnt-out vehicles and boxes of photos.
The courts there have issued 117 indictments and convicted 25 defendants.