T

he Jayapura District Court resumed on Tuesday a trial of two French journalists, Thomas Charles Dandois and Marie Valentine Bourrat, hearing from three witnesses from the prosecution who were not able to confirm that the defendants undertook journalistic activities.

One of the witnesses, Areki Wanimbo, chief of the Lanny tribe in Wamena, revealed that the two defendants came to his house on Aug. 6, 2014, together with Dominikus Sorabut and Theo Hesegem.

Areki said he did not know their intention in coming to the house. He said they did not conduct an interview or take pictures.

'€œI did not speak with them, except Dominikus,'€ Areki told the panel of judges, comprised of presiding judge Marthinus Bala and panel members Maria Sitanggang and Irianto.

Areki added that when Dominikus arrived, he asked about the situation of a village in Lanny Jaya, and Areki said that he had received a text message regarding shooting incidents in the area.

Areki said that Dominikus then asked whether the group could go to Lanny Jaya, but Areki said no. '€œI immediately said they could not go because the situation was unsafe. Don'€™t let there be any more victims.'€

Witnesses Frengky Nalenan and Rausus Octavianus Makabori, both Jayapura Immigration officers, were also aware that the two foreign visitors were journalists from the press cards they carried.

However, neither of them saw the suspects carrying out journalistic activities and the immigration officers only learned from Papua Police investigators that the two had conducted an interview with West Papua Democrats president Forkorus Yaboisembut.

'€œI only knew from police investigators that the defendants conducted an interview with Yaboisembut but the recording has been erased, so I did not see or hear the recording,'€ said Frengky.

Witness Rausus said the defendants arrived in Jayapura and he was not aware of the case involving the foreigners.

In their indictment read out by prosecutors on Monday, the two Arte TV journalists were charged with violating Law No. 8/2011 on immigration, which carries a maximum five-year prison sentence.

Both were apprehended in Wamena on Aug. 6, 2014, and have been in detention since Aug. 14.

Their defense lawyer Aristo Pangaribuan said on Tuesday that the immigration office had charged them with visa violations because they only held tourist visas but allegedly carried out journalistic activities.

Aristo said none of the three witnesses could testify about the journalistic activities allegedly carried out by the pair, adding that his clients were only known as journalists from their press cards.

'€œCan'€™t journalists be tourists? Does every journalist who visits every country carry out journalistic activities? If they become tourists, can they take pictures and are there any tourist sites where taking photos is prohibited? This is subject to debate,'€ said Aristo.