Telly Nathalia, Jakarta – An Indonesian prosecutor demanded on Thursday a court acquit the top general on trial over violence in East Timor in 1999, saying he had not been proven guilty of committing crimes against humanity there.
Prosecutors had been expected to announce their sentencing demands for Major-General Adam Damiri on Thursday.
But in a surprise move and insisting he had not been pressured, prosecutor S. Hozie told the court to rule that "the defendant had not been proven guilty of crimes against humanity" in East Timor when it voted to break from Jakarta's rule. The chief judge said the court would still reconvene on July 1 to hear a statement from Damiri before passing judgement.
Hozie later said the demand did not mean prosecutors had dropped the charges against Damiri, the regional military chief with responsibility for East Timor during its bloody independence vote in August 1999. He did not explain the difference between that and demanding Damiri be declared not guilty.
Damiri is the last of 18 suspects on trial over the violence. The majority have been acquitted, drawing harsh criticism from international and local human rights groups. When Damiri went on trial last July, prosecutors told the special human rights court he was guilty of crimes against humanity for not taking proper action to prevent violence.
East Timor was left in ruins after the UN-backed ballot triggered a killing spree and wave of destruction by militias backed by the Indonesian military. The United Nations, which ran East Timor after the vote until formal independence, estimates more than 1,000 people were killed.
Damiri could face the death penalty if convicted. He has denied having anything to do with the carnage. Wearing military battle dress and with a number of regular troops and special forces soldiers in the court, Damiri wept when Hozie said he should be declared not guilty.
Referring to one incident, an attack on the home of East Timorese bishop and Nobel Peace Laureate Bishop Carlos Belo, Hozie said there had been no military involvement.
The hearing should have been held weeks ago but had been snubbed several times by Damiri. His lawyers had said he was busy with a major military offensive against rebels in Aceh province, where independence demands have simmered for decades.
The human rights court – set up to hear cases over the East Timor violence in the wake of international pressure on Jakarta – has convicted two civilians and three security officers.
The trial is the latest test of the judiciary's independence in a country where the military wields considerable clout. Rights groups say other elements of the trial process are farcical, including the failure to try General Wiranto, Indonesia's military commander at the time of the violence.