Two indonesian soldiers atttending their trail in Jayapura. -- PHOTO: AFP
JAYAPURA (Indonesia) - A COURT martial on Monday jailed three Indonesian soldiers for up to 10 months for abuse and insubordination after graphic video footage showed them torturing civilians in restive Papua.
The relatively light sentences prompted anger among campaigners, who accuse the Indonesian military of acting with brutal impunity against the indigenous Melanesian majority in the far-eastern province of Papua.
The military tribunal found them guilty of abuse and disobeying orders and sentenced Second Sergeant Irwan Rizkiyanto to 10 months in jail, First Private Yakson Agu to nine months and First Private Tamrin Mahan Giri to eight months.
In footage posted on YouTube last year, the soldiers were seen applying a burning stick to the genitals of an unarmed man and threatening another with a knife as they interrogated them about the location of a weapons cache.
In a videoed statement, victim Tunaliwor Kiwo said he thought he was going to die during two days of torture in which he was repeatedly beaten, suffocated, burned with cigarettes and cut with a razor.
The soldiers appeared solemn at their separate tribunals. They had previously confessed to their crimes and said they regretted their actions. -- AFP
0 Comments:
Post a Comment