Jayapura – The Jayapura District Court sentenced Friday three of the last seven defendants on trial for their involvement in the deadly Abepura clash to four and five years in prison.

The Friday session, presided over by Judge Moris Ginting, found the first defendant Yesaya Eko Merano Berotabui guilty of violating Article 214 of the Criminal Code for disobeying police orders. The sentence was a year less than that recommended by the prosecution.

The judges handed down a more lenient sentence because they found the defendant honest and straightforward during the proceedings. However, Eko did not accept the court ruling and immediately

Outside the court, Eko, who was accompanied by his father, C. Berotabui, chief of the Papua Protestant Church Am synod, yelled in protest. "Although I'm convicted, it doesn't weaken the students' struggle to demand PT Freeport's closure," he said, referring to the mining company in the province.

The two other defendants, Aris Mandowen and Phiter Stevanus Bonay, were each sentenced to five years imprisonment for the same crime. Their attorney, David Victor Sitorus, expressed disappointment with the court ruling which he deemed unfair. "It's inconceivable that just by hurling rocks at an officer they were sentenced to five years in prison, especially when their actions did not cause the death of the officer," he said.

Two more defendants are awaiting their verdicts.