Apriadi Gunawan, Medan – The Medan District Court on Thursday sentenced a former North Sumatra legislator and a journalist to a four-year jail term each and a youth leader to 10 years imprisonment for planning a riot.

Hundreds of protesters dispersed a plenary meeting at the provincial legislative building on Feb. 3 this year and mobbed legislative speaker Abdul Aziz Angkat, who had a fatal heart attack.

Prosecutors had earlier sought a 12-year sentence for the three defendants, the rally's organizers, but in the verdict read separately by the respective panel of judges, they were sentenced to lighter sentences.

Former North Sumatra legislative councilor Burhanuddin Radjagukguk and managing editor of the Sinar Indonesia Baru daily Viktor Siahaan were sentenced to four years each, while youth leader Jhon Haidel Samosir was sentenced to 10 years.

Presiding judge Yuferi F. Rangka said defendant Samosir had been proven guilty of striking Abdul Aziz Angkat.

Yuferi said based on testimonies from a number of witnesses, the defendant had hit Aziz when he was about to leave the VIP room at the legislature. Samosir together with the other defendants were in the VIP room pressing Aziz to sign a recommendation for the establishment of a Tapanuli province.

However, Aziz refused to do so and immediately went out the room. "Many witnesses saw Samosir hit Aziz when he was about to leave the room," said Yuferi, adding the defendant also chased after the victim when he was outside the legislative building.

In response to the verdict, Samosir said he would file an appeal on the grounds that the judges' decision was baseless. Samosir denied hitting Aziz. Unlike Samosir, Burhanuddin and Viktor said they would consider filing appeals.

Presiding judge I Ketut Sudira said Burhanuddin's role in the rally was as the secretary of the Tapanuli province founding committee who had agreed to hold the protest.

Sudira said based on facts and testimonies, the defendant was in the VIP room with the other main suspects to press Aziz to sign the recommendation to form the Tapanuli province after the crowd was able to besiege the council's plenary hall.

Sudira said the defendant at one point restricted the protesters from resorting to violence when they were inside the council plenary hall.

"The panel of judges has to consider Burhanuddin's efforts to prohibit protesters from acting violently, and should lighten his sentence."

Presiding judge Indrawaldi said the mitigating factors that lessened defendant Viktor's sentence were based on a number of witnesses saying the defendant had entered the room with petition supporters to cover news on the incident.

The testimonies were strengthened by an explanation from head of the local chapter Indonesian Journalists Association (PWI), saying the defendant was at the council building to carry out his journalistic duties.

Viktor, who served as managing director at the SIB daily – owned by the family of Chandra Panggabean, also an instigator of the protest – was earlier charged by prosecutors with a 12-year sentence.

On Tuesday, the court sentenced former legislator Datumitra Simanjuntak to seven years in jail for masterminding the rally.

Prosecutors earlier demanded that the court sentence Datumitra to 12 years in jail.