T

he panel of judges at the Jayapura Military Court in Papua dismissed First Sgt. Ashar from the Indonesian Army on Thursday, sentencing him to nine years'€™ imprisonment for his involvement in a shooting incident that killed two civilians in Mimika regency.

Ashar, who served with the Military District Command (Kodim) 1710/Timika, is the third soldier to have been dishonorably discharged and sent to jail in the case.

Speaking in a verdict hearing in Timika, the capital of Mimika regency, presiding judge, Lt. Col. Ventje Bulo said that Ashar had been proven to have violated Article 338 Point 1 and 3 of the Criminal Code on murder and Article 351 Point 1 and 2 on aggravated assault.

'€œThe defendant'€™s actions were against the humanitarian instinct as it cost the lives of others'€™,'€ he said.

The verdict, however, was lighter than that demanded by military prosecutors, who recommended an 11-year prison term and a dishonorable discharge.

Ashar, along with three fellow soldiers, First Pvt. Imanuel Imbiri, First Pvt. Makher Rehatta and Chief Pvt. Gregorius R. Geta, were charged with firing gunshots at local residents who were holding a thanksgiving ceremony in front of the Koprapoka Catholic Church in Mimika on Aug. 28.

The incident began when locals became infuriated with Makher and Imanuel for breaking through a road barrier at high speed while riding on motorcycles.

Imanuel, who was on the back of the motorcycle, then descended from the vehicle and brandished a knife at the locals, who later chased both soldiers away. The soldiers then ran to a guard post, grabbed guns and then returned to the church.

Ashar and Gregorius, followed along on another motorcycle, bringing rifles with them. Ashar fired his rifle and so did Makher, killing two civilians from the Kamoro tribe, Herman Mairimau and Yulianus Okoare, and injured four others.

The four soldiers were reportedly under the influence of alcohol when they committed the offence.

Soon after the shooting incident, local residents carried the bodies of the victims to the Kodam base and placed them in the middle of the street in a show of their anger. The bodies were moved to the Koprapoka church only after negotiations were held with Papua Police chief Brig. Gen. Paulus Waterpauw, mediated by Pastor Amandus Rahaded.

During the hearing, Ventje said Ashar'€™s action had proven that he had disobeyed an instruction from the Cenderawasih Military Regional Command (Kodam) chief to protect the local community.

Last week, the same court also dishonorably discharged Makher and Gregorius and sentenced each of them to 12 and three years in prison, respectively. The panel of judges argued in their verdict that the actions of the two soldiers could trigger a security instability in Mimika that could expand to other regions in Papua.

Imanuel, meanwhile, is still awaiting for his verdict hearing.

Kamoro community figure Marianus Maknaipeku earlier said that local residents had appreciated efforts from military leaders to run the trial in a transparent manner. He also applauded the Jayapura Military Court for conducting the military trial in Mimika, instead of the Papuan provincial capital of Jayapura, so that locals could directly observe.

'€œWe ask for one thing, a transparent process, until the dismissal, so that we can really be sure that the perpetrators will no longer remain members of the military,'€ he said.