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W. Papua councilors to appeal verdict
Up to 44 West Papua councilors, who were sentenced by the Jayapura Corruption Court to 12-15 months in jail and fined Rp 50 million (US$ 4,277) each for graft will file appeals with the High Court
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p to 44 West Papua councilors, who were sentenced by the Jayapura Corruption Court to 12-15 months in jail and fined Rp 50 million (US$ 4,277) each for graft will file appeals with the High Court.
'All of my clients agreed to appeal,' Piet Ell, a lawyer for the 44 councilors, told The Jakarta Post Monday, adding that the appeal would be registered on Feb. 24.
In a court trial on Feb. 10, 2014, presiding judge Khairil Fuad sentenced West Papua Legislative Council speaker Yohan Yosep Auri and first deputy speaker Robert Melianus Nauw to 15 months in prison and a fine of Rp 50 million (US$ 4,277), respectively. Second deputy speaker Jimmy Demianus Idjie and 41 other councilors received 12 months in prison with the same fine, each.
The 44 councilors were found guilty of borrowing Rp 22 billion from private company PT Padoma in September 2010. The money was taken from a fund allocated to PT Padoma by the provincial administration for programs involving natural resources management, development, trade, industry and services.
According to Piet Ell, his clients said the judges did not take into consideration testimonies by Philipus H John from Airlangga University, Surabaya, who indicated the councilors were executives of the fund.
Piet also mentioned that the case was not criminal fraud: It was a civilized borrowing and re-borrowing of money. However, West Papua law practitioner Yan Christian Warinussy said otherwise.
'The money they used belonged to the Papua administration. If the money was borrowed by members of the legislative council, isn't that an act of corruption?' Yan told the Post.
In a related development, prosecutor Yos Salvador said that the team of prosecutors would also appeal against the verdict.
"The team of prosecutors will also appeal due to the absence of order for arrests against the councilors," Yos added. (bcw)
