JAYAPURA (Indonesia) - THREE Indonesian soldiers appeared before a military tribunal on Thursday charged with disobeying orders over the brutal videoed torture of two Papuans.
The footage, posted last year on YouTube, shows soldiers applying a burning stick to the genitals of an unarmed man and threatening another with a knife as they interrogate them about the location of a weapons cache.
The incident and the authorities' alleged reluctance to investigate has cast doubt on the Indonesian government's pledges to rein in military abuses in return for renewed US military exchanges.
When the long-awaited trial began in a military court, the soldiers were charged only with the minor offence of disobeying orders. They were not formally accused of the more serious crimes of illegal detention and abuse.
'They defied the orders of their commander. They failed to follow commands and as such, they committed abuse,' military prosecutor Mayor Soemantri told the court.
'Without testimonies from the victims, we cannot prove the abuse. We need to prove it officially that they sustained wounds and burn scars through a medical examination,' he added. -- AFP
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