2) Victim questions light sentence in racism case that sparked Papua riots
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1) Man carrying bullets in Biak gets four years sentence
Published 1 day ago on 31 January 2020 By Admin1
Jayapura, Jubi – The panel of judges at the Biak District Court, Papua, convict thirty years old defendant Imanuel Wayeni who carried sixty-four pieces of 5.65-millimetre ammunition from Jayapura to Biak with four years in prison.
The judges read the verdict against Wayeni in a hearing trial held on Monday (27/1/2020). His sentence is lighter than previously charged by the prosecutor to five years sentence.
The defendant’s lawyer Imanuel Rumayom said the panel of judges give his client seven days to consider whether he will accept or summon the sentence to the High Court in Jayapura. However, Rumayom said he would challenge it after discussing it with his client.
“In our point of view, the Emergency Law no. 12 of 1951 about the ownership of ammunition and sharp weapon as accused by the prosecutor is a rubber article which commonly used to arrest indigenous Papuans,” Rumayom told Jubi via his cellphone on Monday (27/1/2020).
According to him, his client repeatedly stated to the judges that someone set him a trap. “From the start, from the investigation by police to the Court’s trial, we have asked (the authorities) to investigate the owner of these bullets,” he said.
Regarding this, he explained that when his client was at Jayapura Port to Biak, someone gave him a package to carry. His client did not know if it contained ammunition. Moreover, he said the defendant’s statement already proven in the Court.
“The prosecutor also has not been able to prove where did the ammunition come. But, due to a relevant article in the Emergency Law about the bullet’s carrier, it is so relatable to the defendant, although we are sure it did not belong to him,” he said.
Imanuel Wayeni was arrested by Biak Numfor Police at Biak Port on 4 September 2019 while en route from Jayapura City to Serui, Yapen Islands Regency on the passenger ship KM Ciremai.
At that time, the Police Chief of Biak Numfor Mada Indra Laksanta said that beside dozens of bullets, the police also seized a bayonet, camouflage pants, a camouflage shirt with Star-Flag emblem, a camouflage jacket, a camouflage hat and a pair of black shoes.
“He was arrested in the police raid at Biak Port when passengers of KM Ciremai arrived from Jayapura at around 06.30 a.m. Papua time on Wednesday (4/9),” said Police Chief Laksanta. (*)
Reporter: Arjuna Pademme
Editor: Pipit Maizier
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2) Victim questions light sentence in racism case that sparked Papua riots
CNN Indonesia – January 31, 2020
Surabaya – One of the Papuan students in the East Java provincial capital of Surabaya who was the target of racist abuse last year believes that the five month jail sentence handed down against the defendant Syamsul Arifin was too light.
This was revealed by Yoab Orlando, one of the residents of the Papua student dormitory on Jl Kalasan Surabaya. In August last year the dormitory was besieged by hundreds of people from nationalist mass or social organisations (ormas) and security personnel.
“The sentence was too light, yet the impact of this racist and hate speech was far greater than the sentence. This is very worrying”, Orlando told CNN Indonesia on Friday January 31.
Orlando believes that the five-month sentence is too short especially since Arifin can expect to be released soon because most of the sentence will be deducted by the time he spent in detention during the legal process.
The sentence, said Orlando, is the opposite of the heavy sentences which threaten activists and Papuan people who protested the racist actions against the Papuan students.
“It’s only five months, right, very soon he’ll be released because the defendant has already served a part of it in detention. Meanwhile the demonstrators who protested the racism in Papua face far heavier jail terms that the perpetrator [Arifin]”, he said.
Orlando also asked why only Arifin has been prosecuted. He clearly remembers that there were members of the security forces who were involved in the racist abuse against the Papuan students. This, he said, was clearly captured in video recordings circulating on social media.
Orlando is pessimistic that members of the security forces will be prosecuted saying this is the same as cases of human rights (HAM) violations in Papua which to this day have never been resolved.
“On the question of the security personnel who made the racist remarks, I don’t see it as very different from the cases of HAM violations in Papua which are mostly committed by security forces who’s legal cases stagnate, so it’s not very different”, he said.
Earlier, Syamsul Arifin, a state civil servant charged over racism during the incident at the Papuan student dormitory in Surabaya was sentenced to five months jail.
“[We hereby] hand down a sentence against the defendant Syamsul Arifin of five months jail. We order that the defendant pay a fine of 1 million rupiah or serve an additional one month’s incarceration”, said the judge.
The panel of judges said that Arifin had been found guilty of violating Article 16 of Law Number 40/2008 on the Elimination of Racial and Ethnic Discrimination.
“The defendant Syamsul Arifin has legally and convincingly found to have committed a crime by intentionally demonstrating hatred or feelings of hatred towards another person based on racial discrimination”, said the judge.
The judges said that there were mitigating circumstances, namely the defendants admitted to his deed and had never been jailed before or involved in a crime prior to this case. Meanwhile the incriminating factor was than Arifin had created anxiety among the public.
The verdict was lighter than the sentence demanded by the public prosecutor of eight months in jail.
With this sentence and the deductions for time he has already served in jail, Arifin will leave the Surabaya Class I Penitentiary in Medaeng Sidoarjo today. (frd/pmg)
[Slightly abridged translation by James Balowski. The original title of the article was “Penghuni Asrama Papua: Vonis ASN Kasus Rasisme Terlalu Ringan”.]
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