[Kabar-indonesia] Indonesians: Mine Killings Trial Unfair; Called a Sham

[Joyo at aol.com]

Indonesians: Mine Killings Trial Unfair; Called a Sham

also: 7 Indonesians accused in murder of Americans in Papua
call trial a sham

The Associated Press
October 31, 2006

Indonesians: Mine Killings Trial Unfair

By IRWAN FIRDAUS Associated Press Writer

JAKARTA, Indonesia — Seven men accused of killing two
American teachers at a U.S.-owned gold mine in Papua
province refused to enter a plea Tuesday as their trial
wrapped up because they believed the proceedings were
unfair, their lawyer said.

Because no plea was entered, Judge Andriani Nurdin said she
would issue a verdict Nov. 7.

The defendants have remained silent throughout the course of
their five-month trial and regularly walked out in protest.

Prosecutors alleged the men _ all indigenous Papuans _ were
members of a small rebel army fighting for a separate state
in the resource-rich province.

They are accused of shooting Rickey Lynn Spier, 44, of
Littleton, Colo., and

Leon Edwin Burgon, 71, of Sun River, Ore., in 2002 as their
car headed down a road toward the mine owned by Freeport-
McMoran Copper and Gold Inc. and Gold Mine Inc.

Johnson Panjaitan, a lawyer for the defendants, said his
clients refused to enter the plea because they had routinely
been denied access to attorneys and that the judges were
biased against them. "They do not believe the trial was
fair," Panjaitan said.

Officials at the Central Jakarta District Court were not
immediately available for comment.

The hearing in the heavily guarded court was interrupted
several times by rowdy Papuan protesters.

Prosecutors have demanded that the alleged ringleader
Antonius Wamang serve 20 years in prison and that the others
serve eight to 15 years.

Wamang, who was indicted by a U.S. grand jury in 2004 for
the murders, admitted to shooting at the teachers' convoy,
saying he believed it was carrying soldiers paid by the New
Orleans-based company to guard the mine, Panjaitan said.

Wamang also acknowledged being a member of the Papuan
separatist movement, which has long seen the mine as a
symbol of Jakarta-rule over the province, the lawyer said.

But the other six, accused of providing logistics for the
attack, maintain they were ordinary civilians, he said.
Some Papuan activists have alleged that the Indonesian army,
which has a history of rights abuses in the province,
ordered the 2002 attack to make sure Freeport would continue
to pay soldiers to protect the mine.

The military has denied that and the FBI, which took part in
the arrests of the seven men last year, found no evidence
backing up those suspicions.

----------------------------------------------------

7 Indonesians accused in murder of Americans in Papua call
trial a sham

The Associated Press
October 31, 2006

JAKARTA, Indonesia Seven men accused of killing two American
teachers at a U.S.-owned gold mine in Papua province refused
to enter a plea Tuesday as their trial wrapped up because
they believed the proceedings were unfair, their lawyer
said.

Because no plea was entered, Judge Andriani Nurdin said she
would issue a verdict Nov. 7.

The defendants have remained silent throughout the course of
their five-month trial and regularly walked out in protest.

Prosecutors alleged the men — all indigenous Papuans — were
members of a small rebel army fighting for a separate state
in the resource-rich province.

They are accused of shooting Rickey Lynn Spier, 44, of
Littleton, Colorado, and Leon Edwin Burgon, 71, of Sun
River, Oregon, in 2002 as their car headed down a road
toward the mine owned by Freeport-McMoRan Copper and Gold
Mine Inc.

Johnson Panjaitan, a lawyer for the defendants, said his
clients refused to enter the plea because they had routinely
been denied access to attorneys and that the judges were
biased against them. "They do not believe the trial was
fair," Panjaitan said.

Officials at the Central Jakarta District Court were not
immediately available for comment.

The hearing in the heavily guarded court was interrupted
several times by rowdy Papuan protesters.

Prosecutors have demanded that the alleged ringleader —
Antonius Wamang — serve 20 years in prison and that the
others serve eight to 15 years. Wamang, who was indicted by
a U.S. grand jury in 2004 for the murders, admitted to
shooting at the teachers' convoy, saying he believed it was
carrying soldiers paid by the New Orleans-based company to
guard the mine, Panjaitan said.

Wamang also acknowledged being a member of the Papuan
separatist movement, which has long seen the mine as a
symbol of Jakarta-rule over the province, the lawyer said.

But the other six, accused of providing logistics for the
attack, maintain they were ordinary civilians, he said.
Some Papuan activists have alleged that the Indonesian army,
which has a history of rights abuses in the province,
ordered the 2002 attack to make sure Freeport would continue
to pay soldiers to protect the mine.

The military has denied that and the FBI, which took part in
the arrests of the seven men last year, found no evidence
backing up those suspicions.

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Joyo Indonesia News Service
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