Yemris Fointuna, Kupang – The Kupang District Court sentenced nine civilian defendants on Friday to one year in prison each for their involvement in last year's attack on a court building and prosecutor's office on Flores Island, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT).
The defendants were found guilty beyond all reasonable doubt of violating Article 170 of the Criminal Code over the attack on Nov. 15, 2003 in Larantuka, the capital city of East Flores regency.
Prosecutor Samuel Say demanded only one-year jail terms for three defendants – Marthinus Mangu, 52, John Ricardo, 29, and Rafael Sinung Jaya Lamanepa, 36.
In a separate trial, prosecutors Hanoch Amalo and I Ketut Sukada sought 18 months in prison for six other suspects – Sebastianus F. Langkamau, 32, Wilhelmus Langkamau, 34, Filipus Tobi, 38, Benediktus Langkamau, 29, Wempi Langkamau, 25, and Thobis Muda Odjan, 28.
The nine defendants were being tried separately before the same court, which was presided over by Hendri Silaen, accompanied by judges Karlen Prialusi and Bernadeta Samosir.
Samuel Say said the prosecution accepted the verdicts on the first group of three defendants, while the three's lawyers said they planned to appeal.
In the trial of the group of six defendants, the prosecutors said they would appeal the verdicts.
The courtroom was packed with spectators, mostly family members of the defendants, with the area around the courthouse being tightly guarded by one platoon of police.
Three other civilian suspects are still on trial for their alleged involvement in the same attack on a courthouse shortly after a judge convicted local Catholic leader, Father Frans Amanuen, in a defamation case filed by East Flores Regent Felix Fernandes.
All 12 suspects were also accused of setting fire to the Larantuka Prosecutor's Office. No fatalities were reported in the incident.
Father Amanuen was taken to court after he accused the East Flores regent of being involved in marking up the price of a multipurpose boat that was purchased by the local government. The boat is said to have been worth Rp 3 billion (US$352,941).
In a local publication, Amanuen criticized the regent, saying he had enriched himself through the purchase of the boat.
Regent Felix Fernandez then reported the outspoken priest to the police for defamation. A court later sentenced the priest to two months' imprisonment and five months' probation. His supporters, however, were enraged by the verdict, and went on a rampage, setting fire to the state buildings.
Larantuka was last rocked by sectarian violence in 1995, when an angry mob killed Taman, 47, a resident of Banyuwangi, East Java, at Reinha Rosario Cathedral. Taman, who was a Protestant, was accused of insulting the Catholic church during a sermon.
According to the 2000 census, 154,903 out of the 199,586 inhabitants of East Flores are Catholic.