11 Indonesian soldiers jailed for 1984 massacre

The Central Jakarta District Courthas found 11 soldiers guilty of committing crimes against humanity for opening fire on a group of protesters in 1984, killing at least 24 people, a local newspaper reported Saturday.

Capt. Sutrisno Mascung, who was the commander of the Air Defense Artillery Battalion from the North Jakarta District Military Command, was sentenced to three years in jail and his 10 subordinates in 1984 were sentenced to three years in prison on Friday for the bloody Tandjung Priok incident, reported The Jakarta Post.

The judge panel said the firing by the troops "was not an act of self-defense, but intentional murder," said Andi.

The sentences handed down to Sutrisno and his soldiers were much lower than the minimum 10 years stipulated in Law No. 26/2000on the human rights court. Earlier, prosecutor Widodo Supriyadi demanded 10 years in prison for the soldiers respectively.

Source: Xinhua