Admitting to hailing from Demak, this woman was charged with being the commander of Inong Balee and sentenced to 18 years in prison by a special tribunal. The drama began on the side of the road in Lamno, Aceh Jaya, in early March.

A public bus was pulled over by troops from the TNI (Indonesian Military) and Brimob (Police Special Mobile Brigade). In accordance with martial law in effect at the time, in the province of Aceh, such random raids were commonplace.

Sometimes squads would appear from out of the thick underbrush, or at one time a military barricade was stopping motorists on the bend in a narrow road. On this particular day, the ensuing raid would be all too traumatic for Elit Baleno.

As usual, all passengers were required to disembark from the bus. All passengers were clutching their special red and white KTP, special identity cards that civilians were required to carry with them. Elit held her card tightly, while the security forces glanced at each and every face one by one.

Then it was Elit's turn. A soldier took a good close-up look. Elit was very young-only 18 according to her KTP. Her skin was tanned, her hair short, black and wavy. With her solidly built torso, at first glance her posture resembled that of a man. Perhaps it was these physical dimensions that sparked the terrible accusations which followed: "I was said to be the commander of the paramilitary unit Inong Balee." Elit stated, recounting her story to Tempo at the Lhok Nga Women's Prison in Aceh Besar, on Thursday three weeks ago.

Inong Balee is an armed female wing of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM). It is essentially composed of widows, wives and family members of the GAM guerrillas. Although battle trained, they are rarely engaged in direct combat. In the words of Teuku Cut Kafrawi, GAM spokesperson for East Aceh, they are a reliable "behind the lines" unit, "including matters of intelligence and logistics," added Kafrawi.

Elit, who comes from Demak in Central Java, denies these heavy charges. For one thing she does not even speak fluent Acehnese. "I'm Javanese, but have somehow been accused of being Inong Balee," she said. Her Javenese accent is still very thick. She admits to being a child of transmigration, along with her parents. She has lived in Aceh since her primary school days.

After leaving Demak, the family moved to the Rencong area around 10 years ago. Along with her father, Bahari, and mother, Kasum, Elit stayed at the SP III transmigration complex in Teunom district, Aceh Jaya. Then they moved to the village of Lueng Gavo, which is located in the same district. The family was lucky not to be driven out by GAM when armed conflict intensified there. "We moved before we were pushed," Elit said.

But the roadside raid on Jalan Lamno stopped Elit in her tracks. The soldiers were convinced that Elit was actually Salbiah alias Cut Nyak Sah, second-in-command of Inong Balee 4th District in Teunom, whereas her KTP quite clearly contained the name Elit Baleno, resident of Banda Aceh. "They said my name was false," she told Tempo.

In the past three years, Elit has indeed been living in Banda Aceh. She even works in the canteen at the TNI mess in Keraton (an area of the provincial capital). On that fateful day, she had wanted to look in on her sick mother in Teunom, around 140 kilometers from West Banda Aceh. Could Elit really be Salbiah, the female guerrilla on Teunom's most wanted list?

Ilyas Syam, the canteen owner, supported Elit's claim that she worked in his kedai. Ilyas said that since coming to Banda Aceh at age 15, Elit has held her own KTP. It was Ilyas who arranged her identity card when martial law was declared. "In the three years she's been with us she's rarely left the house," Ilyas told Tempo. Ilyas can only shrug his shoulders in the matter of Inong Balee. To his knowledge the young girl was not active in politics, and had also only been back to her village once, soon after she arrived, to visit her ailing grandmother. "She was generally well behaved," Ilyas said.

The raid on Jalan Lamnno immediately transformed Elit's life. Despite denials to the point of tears, she was still taken to the military police post where she was interrogated day and night. Elit was charged with murdering TNI First Private Idris, a member of Linud 700, and later she was accused of causing the death of a teacher at a state high school in Samadua, southern Aceh. The school had been burnt to the ground, allegedly also on account of Elit's actions.

Elit continued to deny the allegations, until one interrogator beat her and ordered her to strip naked. "They said they were looking for tattoos on my body," she said. Terrified of being raped, Elit admitted to the accusations. She told Tempo that the authorities had forced her to sign a record of an interview that she was never allowed to read. Since then she has acquired the new name: Salbiah, Commander of Inong Balee for the region of Teunom.

After being charged by police in West Aceh, Elit alias Salbiah was hauled before the Calang District Court, Aceh Jaya, at the end of last March.

Denied legal representation, she faced her trial. The judge did question her repeatedly about the truth of her being a member of Inong Balee and although she denied it, she was given a heavy jail sentence-the same number of years as her age-18-at the time. The penalty handed down was two years less than the prosecution had demanded. Elit could only groan. She can't stop thinking about why she was tried under Salbiah's name.

It's also how she's known among her cellmates. She said that during her trial, not a single witness had given evidence. She herself was only taken into the courtroom on two occasions. "Once when the indictment was read out and then again when sentence was passed," she said.

There are two sides to every story, and the head of Calang Prosecutors Office, Superi, gives a very different version. According to Superi, Elit Baleno is merely a cover name designed to fool the authorities. Her original name, according to Superi, is Salbiah alias Cut Nyak Sah, daughter of Bahari.

According to Superi, Salbiah is a dangerous woman. She, along with her 'gang,' tricked a member of military unit Linud 700, which led to the death of a TNI soldier.

At the time Salbiah was pretending to be a member of the Ground Forces Women's Corps from Bandung, going by the name of Captain Elit Baleno. In addition, "Her own parents told me themselves that their daughter's name was Salbiah, and not Elit Baleno," Superi said.

According to Superi, witnesses did in fact appear at the trial. From their testimony, the prosecution became more and more convinced that Elit Baleno was in fact Salbiah. And Salbiah is no ordinary woman. Her official post is as the Deputy Commander of Inong Balee, the Gajah Keng division, in the area of Krueng Sabee. One of the most important witnesses was Nulussa'adah, repeatedly mentioned as Salbiah's trainer at the Inong Balee military camp. Each of the witnesses was credible, he said. "It wouldn't be possible for me to prosecute without evidence." He claimed that the investigation was carried out in line with procedure, and warded off claims that Elit had been tortured.

Superi also denied that the trial had only consisted of two sittings, claiming that the court had actually been in session four times. According to the prosecution, Elit also confessed to all charges during the trial. Superi is firmly convinced that Elit Baleno is Salbiah. "I'm prepared to prove it to anyone at all," he asserted.

Amidhan, member of the National Commission for Human Rights, said that his institution had indeed received reports that the investigation and subsequent trial of Elit Baleno were unfair. "Elit has admitted to not being represented by a lawyer and never meeting with witnesses," said Amidhan, who visited Elit in prison last month. Amidhan heard from Elit herself the story that she had been forced to sign a confession in court, out of fear of being stripped naked and raped. "We're still conducting investigations into the court process," Amidhan said.

Using Elit's case as a starting point, the commission is also concerned about conditions in detention centers in Aceh. Prisoners there are believed to be consistently receiving trials that are unfair. Although having a trial is very important, it is pointless if justice is failing to be upheld, said Zoemrotin, Chairperson of the National Commission for Human Rights. "They are getting trials but not justice," Zoemrotin said.

Since the time of the raid in Lamno, Elit has spiraled downwards into a life she could never have possibly imagined: that of a convicted felon in Lhok Nga Prison. She is confined there with 51 other women, who are also accused of being Inong Balee members. Cut Nurasyikin, a businesswoman repeatedly mentioned as being the Inong Balee coordinator for the whole of Aceh, just shakes her head. "Poor Elit, she's undergoing a punishment not in line with anything she's ever done," she said. War is indeed a drama full of absurdity.

[Nezar Patria, Yuswardi A. Suud in Banda Aceh.]