Indra Harsaputra, Surabaya – The Surabaya Military Court on Thursday sentenced 13 marines to prison terms of 18 months to three-and-a-half years for fatally shooting four villagers and wounding another eight in a clash last year.

Presiding judge Lt. Col. Yan Akhmad Mulyana said in the verdict that the defendants were convicted for their role in a crime that caused the deaths of others. "Each of the defendants is dismissed from the Marine Corps and is sentenced with different prison terms," Yan said.

The heaviest sentence was given to platoon leader First Lt. Budi Santoso, who received three-and-a-half years in prison. A lighter sentence of two-and-a-half years was given to First Cpl. Mohammad Suratno and Chief Pvt. Suyatno. The three said they would appeal the verdict.

The marines' lawyer Marianus T. Miron said the sentences were too harsh. "The marines were on patrol when the clash occurred. They did not do so (conduct the patrol) of their own will. It was a state duty," Marianus said.

The remaining 10 marines were each sentenced with eighteen months in prison.

The incident occurred on May 30, 2007, following a dispute between villagers of Alas Tlogo in Pasuruan, East Java, and the Navy over ownership rights to a plot of land.

The killing spree began as angry villagers reportedly threw objects at the 13 marines as they were patrolling on foot around the Navy's combat exercise compound in Alas Tlogo.

Responding to the sentences, some Alas Tlogo villagers said they were too lenient. "We want them sentenced to life imprisonment. This is not fair. They killed people and got only three-and-a-half years in prison," said Jumatun, a relative of one of the four killed.

Legal expert I Wayan Titip of Surabaya-based Airlangga University said he would show new evidence revealing that the incident was actually a planned action to attack the villagers. The evidence in question, according to Wayan, was discovered by the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence.

"The trial gave the image that a clash occurred between the marines and the villagers and that the shootings were not made on purpose," he told The Jakarta Post.

"There is also a possibility that the action was an order by the military's highest authority as soldiers are just like robots controlled by others, the military leaders."