Indonesia's Supreme Court has upheld a special court ruling acquitting a former military commander in East Timor of gross human rights violations in East Timor in 1999, when its people voted to separate from Indonesia, a court source said Tuesday.

"The court rejected an appeal by government prosecutors Monday because they failed to prove the defendant has been responsible for the violations," the source told Kyodo News.

The defendant was Dili District Commander Lt. Col. Endar Priyanto at the time of the mobilization and arming of East Timorese militia groups in early 1999.

According to the source, Priyanto, who is a member of the army's special force command KOPASSUS, was acquitted of charges of having allowed soldiers under his command to murder and torture people in the house of independence leader Manuel Vegas Carascalao on April 17, 1999.

At least 12 people were killed in the attack, believed to have been carried out by the militia group Aitarak led by Eurico Guterres, who has been sentenced to 10 years in jail, and the militia group Besi Merah Putih, with assistance from the military.

"The defendant's subordinates did not take part in the attack, thus he cannot be held responsible," the source said.

Earlier, prosecutors asked the Ad Hoc Human Rights Tribunal to sentence Priyanto to 10 years in jail. The tribunal also acquitted him.

The Ad Hoc Human Rights Tribunal tried 18 people accused of involvement in the East Timor violence, but acquitted most of them, mainly military and police officers.

East Timor, which was a Portuguese colony for more than 400 years before being invaded by Indonesia in 1975, gained independence May 20, 2002, after more than 24 years under Indonesian occupation and two-and-a-half years under UN administration.