T

he Medan District Court sentenced six men, two of them police officers, on Thursday to between two-and-a-half and six years in prison for their involvement in a bank robbery and a shooting in Aceh.

The convicts were Al Mujahadah Islamic boarding school caretaker Ahmad Barmawi, 44, Brigadiers Husaini bin Ali Yusuf, 32, and Alhadi Juriawan, 27, Nasrullah bin Rahimuddin, 35, Ali Kasri bin Arsyad, 34, and M. Yahya bin M. Amin, 40.

Barmawi and the Aceh Police officers, Husaini and Alhadi, were sentenced to six years in jail each for robbing the Meukek branch BRI bank in South Aceh. Ali Kasri and Nasrullah, who were also involved in the robbery, were sentenced to five years each. The sentences for the five defendants were lighter than what had been sought by prosecutors.

The panel of judges also sentenced three of the five defendants '€” Ali, Husaini and Nasrullah '€” for their involvement in the shooting at the Aceh National Party (PNA) office in West Aceh, to two years and six months, four years, and three years, six months, respectively.

In the PNA office-shooting case, the court sentenced Yahya to two years and six months in prison.

Presiding judge Firman said those convicted of robbery had violated the Criminal Code, while those involved in the shooting had violated Law No. 12/1951 on firearms and explosive materials.

Firman said the defendants convicted of the robbery and shooting were part of the same group led by Barmawi.

Barmawi was the caretaker of the boarding school while the remaining five defendants, including the two police officers, were allegedly his followers.

In his verdict, Firman said proceeds from the robbery, led by Barmawi, would have been used to improve the boarding school.

However, as the robbery '€” which took place on May 10, 2013 '€” was carried out hastily, the robbers were only able to take a deposit box from the bank, which was not filled with cash, but with bank employee pay slips, Firman added.

'€œDuring the robbery, the robbers used rifles owned by the police officers involved in the case,'€ said Firman.

He added the officers also used the rifles to shoot at the PNA office in Guhang village, Blangpidie, Southwest Aceh, on March 15, 2014. Firman said police found six AK 101 shells at the scene of the shooting.

He added the defendants had intentionally shot at the PNA office to divert attention from a separate shooting on March 3, 2014, when a PNA legislator, Faisal, was killed after suffering a number of gunshot wounds.

The Medan District Court is scheduled to deliver the verdict in the Faisal murder case on Feb. 12.