T

he Merauke Prosecutor's Office has challenged a ruling by the Jayapura High Court to acquit five Australians for trespassing into Indonesian airspace.

"We are filing an appeal against the ruling. Therefore the five *Australians* are still unable to leave Merauke," chief prosecutor Sudiro Husodo told The Jakarta Post here Wednesday.

"Our move was based on the court ruling. We are still awaiting a verdict from the Supreme Court before returning the evidence seized from them."

He added that although the high court had already acquitted the Australians, Article 194(3) of the Criminal Code stipulated that the evidence could not be handed over if there was no legally binding ruling from the court.

Sudiro said his office only received a copy of the high court's verdict at 10:30 a.m. local time (8:30 a.m. in Jakarta). He added his office had already released them from city arrest.

The five Australians were arrested after landing at Mopah Airport in Merauke on Sept. 13, 2008, without visas, flight approval or security clearance.

On Jan. 15, the Merauke District Court sentenced pilot Henry Scott Bloxam to three years in prison and fined him Rp 50 million (US$4,545) for violating Articles 58 and 13(2) of Law No. 15/1992 on aviation.

The four passengers - Bloxam's wife and copilot Vera, Hubert Hofer, Karen Burke and Keith Rowald Mortimer - were sentenced to two years in prison and fined Rp 25 million each for violating Articles 53 and 6 of Law No. 9/1992 on immigration.

Their twin-piston P-68 aircraft, with registration code VH-PFP, was seized by the state.

They appealed their convictions, and last Tuesday, the high court overturned the ruling.

Defense lawyer Efrem Fangoihoy said the high court had accepted their appeal because there was evidence that the air crew had received verbal clearance to land.

He added that even if there was no prior written consent for the aircraft to enter Indonesian airspace, the government would only be able to deport the illegal entrants as opposed to holding them in detention.

He also said that Mopah Airport was an international airport and therefore a neutral area from which non-authorized personal, including illegal immigrants, could not enter Indonesia as they would face deportation.

"We will file a letter of protest to the President through the Attorney General's Office, and send a copy to the Australian Embassy in Jakarta," defense lawyer Rifan told the Post.

"When we filed an appeal *at the district court level*, our clients had to be detained because the appeal did not influence the ruling by the Merauke District Court.

"The Merauke Prosecutor's Office should have done the same thing. Although they filed an appeal, they should have respected the Jayapura High Court's verdict," he added.

Responding to the complaint, Sudiro said he was not afraid.

"They can *send a letter to the President*, I'm not afraid because I have a solid legal basis," he said.