Indonesian soldiers jailed over killing

A military court convicted four Indonesian officers and three soldiers of involvement in the killing of a politician who advocated greater autonomy for the troubled Papua province.

The tribunal in the port city of Surabaya sentenced the men to prison terms of between two and four years yesterday for their role in the slaying of Theys Eluay, who was found dead on 10 November 2001, near the regional capital, Jayapura.

The guilty verdicts are a rare example of Indonesia's powerful military being held accountable for human rights abuses. But many Papuans are likely to see the relatively lenient sentences as a sign that they will not be able to win greater autonomy from Jakarta through political means.

The defendants could have received up to seven years in jail. "For me, the sentences were too lenient," said Hendardi, a human rights lawyer who like many Indonesians goes by one name. "And we don't even see the highest-ranking officers with command responsibilities on trial here."

The seven members of a special forces unit had been charged with "actions leading to the death" of Mr Eluay.

Colonel Yamini, presiding over the court martial, said: "The defendants have been legally and convincingly proven guilty of torturing [Mr Eluay] to death."

Human Rights groups and the police have also implicated soldiers in the killing in August of two American school teachers and an Indonesian colleague near a copper mine in Papua, on the western part of Guinea island. But so far, the military has denied any involvement and the investigation has stalled.

The death of Mr Eluay was greeted with mass protests and has energised an independence movement that had largely been ignored by the international community.