Seven Indonesian special forces soldiers accused over the murder of Papua pro-independence leader Theys Hiyo Eluay will go on trial next month, a general said yesterday.

The military police chief, Major General Sulaiman, said the court-martial of the Kopassus special forces members will begin in the East Java city of Surabaya early in January, the state Antara news agency reported.

Sulaiman, speaking at Sorong in Papua, did not give a precise date but said the files were already in the hands of military prosecutors.

The four officers and three privates may face up to 15 years in jail and dismissal from the forces, he said. About 80 witnesses have been prepared for the trial but Sulaiman gave no details about them.

Eluay, the leader of the pro-independence Papua Praesidium, was found murdered in his car on November 11, 2001. He had been abducted the previous night while driving home from a ceremony at the Kopassus base in the Papu provincial capital Jayapura.

Indonesia has administered Papua, which was then known as Irian Jaya, since 1963 following an agreement with departing Dutch colonial rulers.

The United Nations endorsed a controversial referendum in 1969, which involved a public show of hands by a few hundred hand-picked tribal leaders in favour of Indonesian rule.