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Two Brits may face 5 years imprisonment for making illegal documentary
Two British journalists may face five years imprisonment for illegally making a documentary in Batam, Riau Islands, an official says
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Two British journalists may face five years imprisonment for illegally making a documentary in Batam, Riau Islands, an official says.
General crimes division head at Batam Prosecutor's Office Ali Akbar said on Wednesday that the two journalists Neil Bonner (31) and Becky Posser (30) were charged with violating the Immigration Law, which carried a penalty of five years imprisonment for misusing tourist visas for making a documentary film.
Bonner and Posser have been held at the Batam Immigration Detention House for three months while waiting for the next legal step.
Ali said that his office had received a letter informing them of the investigation process.
He added that the case would be tried at the Batam District Court after the investigation process was over.
Bonner, Posser and nine Indonesians were arrested in May by a Naval patrol as the group was taking footage around Belakang Padang Island, Batam.
The police said that the nine Indonesians involved in making the documentary without a license would be charged with the 2009 Law on film, which carried a penalty of two years of imprisonment or a fine of Rp 10 billion (US$707,504).
The Indonesian Navy's Western Fleet commander Rear Admiral Taufiqurrahman said that the UK government had attempted to free its citizens but to no avail, as the Indonesian authority had rejected such intervention.
Taufiqurrahman himself considered the charges against the two Brits reasonable considering the crimes they committed.
"What they are reporting is untrue. It will create a bad image for the Malacca Strait area. We support the Immigration Directorate General to continue the legal process against the two for violating the Immigration Law with a penalty of five years in prison,' he told The Jakarta Post. (ika)(++++)
