Levi Cunding – An Indonesian court on Friday sentenced five men to three years in jail in the restive Papua region for raising an outlawed separatist flag and declaring the region's independence.
The men had led a peaceful pro-independence celebration attended by 5,000 Papuans on October 19.
Papuans, mostly indigenous Melanesians, have long accused Indonesia's military of violating human rights in the region and complain that the bulk of earnings from its rich natural resources flow to Jakarta.
"All five defendants are found guilty of committing treason as stated in the criminal code. All aspects have been proven legally and convincingly," Judge Jack L. Oktovianus told the Jayapura district court. "We sentence them all to three years in prison."
The maximum sentence for treason is life in prison, but prosecutors had sought a five-year prison term. Among the defendants was Forkorus Yaboisembut, president of the Papuans' self-proclaimed state.
At least three people were killed and more than 90 injured during the pro-independence celebration. Local TV footage showed paramilitary police shooting into the crowd and beating participants with batons and bare fists after the men declared independence and raised the outlawed Papuan flag. Eight police officers involved in the shooting were let off with a warning.
Human rights groups denounced the court decision, saying it violates international laws and the Indonesian constitution, which guarantees freedom to protest.
"The imprisonment today of five peaceful political activists is a serious setback to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly in Indonesia, and violates Indonesia's obligations under international law," Amnesty International Indonesia campaigner Josef Benedict said in a statement.
"These five activists are prisoners of conscience – jailed solely for peacefully expressing their political views. They must be immediately and unconditionally released."
Human Rights Watch (HRW) called for the government to release all political prisoners and allow rights organisations and foreign journalists unimpeded access to the region, which is tightly-controlled by Jakarta.
"Throwing activists in prison on charges of treason will just reinforce Papuans' beliefs that the Indonesian government uses the law for political purposes," HRW Asia deputy director Elaine Pearson said in a statement.
"If the Indonesian government wants to make an example out of these people, then it should free them as a symbol of its commitment to free expression." In 1969, Indonesia took control of Papua, a former Dutch colony on the western half of New Guinea island, after a vote among a select group of Papuans widely seen as a sham.
More than 170 people are imprisoned in Indonesia for promoting separatism, most of them from Papua or the eastern Maluku islands, according to HRW.