Jayapura – The Jayapura District Court sentenced on Thursday Jundi Wanimbo and Ariyanto Kogoya each to two months and 26 days in jail for inciting a riot that led to damage being caused to dozens of kiosks around a mosque.
"Hopefully the defendants will accept the verdict and return to Karubaga, Tolikara, and resume working," presiding judge Adrianus Infaindan said.
The verdict means the defendants are now free as they have been detained for the period of their sentence already. The verdict was lighter than the sentence demanded by prosecutors who demanded four months in jail. The defendants' lawyer Gustave Kawer said his clients were still considering whether to appeal the verdict or not.
Jundi, a civil servant at Tolikara regency office, and Ariyanto, an employee at Bank Papua in Karubaga, were charged after the riot on July 17, 2015. The riot occurred after a group of people protested Muslims performing Idul Fitri prayers using a loud speaker.
Seventy kiosks were damaged and burned down and the fire spread to a musholla (small mosque). One of the protesters was shot dead by security officers.