The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) has filed an amicus curiae (a brief filed by someone who is not a party to a case) in the appeal process of the trial of the attack at Cebongan Penitentiary in Sleman, Yogyakarta.

Commission member Maneger Nasution said that there were problems in the four trials of the case '€” in which the military prosecutors demanded sentences that were too light for the 12 defendants who were all members of the Army'€™s Special Forces (Kopassus) Group 2 Kandang Menjangan, Kartosuro, Central Java.

With an amicus curiae, according to Nasution, the commission would have the right to give testimony on the alleged human rights violation in the killings of the four detainees.

'€œWe have filed an amicus curiae with the II-11 Yogyakarta Military Court but the chairperson did not give us approval,'€ Nasution said.

An amicus curiae '€“ which literally means friend of the court '€“ is someone who is not directly implicated in a case, who offers information that bears on the case but that has not been solicited by any of the parties to assist the court.

With regard to the verdicts handed down to the defendants, Nasution said that the commission appreciated the trial processes, which were conducted smoothly and openly, adding that the presiding judges were relatively independent.

'€œMany of the defendants'€™ alibis were rejected by the judges. The verdicts as well were quite similar from the sentences sought by the military prosecutors,'€ he said.

On Friday, defendant Second Sgt. Ikhmawan Suprapto was sentenced to 15 months'€™ imprisonment for assisting in the murders of the four detainees, who were suspects in the murder of a Kopassus member Chief Sgt. Heru Santoso, at Hugos Café, Yogyakarta, on March 19.

Ikhmawan was the driver of the car that carried the three main defendants, namely Second Sgt. Ucok Tigor Simbolon, Second Sgt. Sugeng Sumaryanto and First Cpl. Kodik, who were sentenced to 11, eight and six years in prison on Thursday. The sentences were lighter than the 12, 10 and eight years, for Ucok, Sugeng and Kodik respectively, demanded by military prosecutors.

Responding to the verdict, Ikhmawan said he would file an appeal. The sentence was more lenient than what was demanded by the military prosecutors who were seeking an 18-month prison sentence.

Meanwhile in a separate session, four months and 20 days was handed down to each of the defendants, Maj. Sgt. Rakhmadi, Maj. Sgt. Muhammad Zaenuri and Chief Sgt. Sutar.

'€œThe defendants were found guilty of neglecting to inform their superiors about Ucok leaving for Yogyakarta [resulting in the prison attack] and that the force was late in taking precautionary measures,'€ presiding judge Lt. Col. Faridah Faisal said.

With the verdicts, Faridah ordered the court to release the three because their detention period had exceeded the jail term they had to serve. The verdict was lighter than the sentence sought by prosecutors who were seeking eight months in prison.

Unlike the previous trials, Friday was relatively quiet with the absence of the Kopassus supporters.

Separately, Kopassus Group 2 Kandang Menjangan commander Lt. Col. Maruli Simanjuntak said that the verdicts were too heavy. He also expressed regret that the panels of judges did not take into account the expert witnesses'€™ testimonies.

Maruli said that the convicts would serve their prison terms at the military detention center in Cimahi, West Java.

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