Cablegate: Jakarta High Court Upholds Verdicts in Timika Case

VZCZCXRO7527
OO RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM
DE RUEHJA #0897 0870914
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 280914Z MAR 07
FM AMEMBASSY JAKARTA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 4079
INFO RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS IMMEDIATE
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA IMMEDIATE 0590
RUEHPB/AMEMBASSY PORT MORESBY IMMEDIATE 3329
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO IMMEDIATE 0429
RUEHWL/AMEMBASSY WELLINGTON IMMEDIATE 1426
RHMCSUU/FBI WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE
RUEAWJB/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC IMMEDIATE
RHHJJPI/USPACOM HONOLULU HI IMMEDIATE

UNCLAS JAKARTA 000897

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

FBI PLEASE PASS CTD/ITOS I, CTD/ITOS II, GOU
STATE FOR EAP/MTS, DS/DSS, DS/IP/EAP, DS/EAP/ITA, AND
CA/OCS/ACS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PGOV ASEC CASC KJUS PHUM ID
SUBJECT: JAKARTA HIGH COURT UPHOLDS VERDICTS IN TIMIKA CASE

REF: 06 JAKARTA 013142 (WAMANG SENTENCED TO LIFE)

1. (SBU) On March 7, the Jakarta High Court announced that it
had upheld the Central Jakarta District Court's guilty
verdicts (reftel) of Anthonius Wamang and his co-conspirators
Agustinus Anggaibak (AKA Johnny Kasomol), Yulianus Deikme,
Ishak Onawatme, Esau Onawatme, and Yairus Kiwak in connection
with the 2002 murders of two American citizens and one
Indonesian near Timika, Papua. Wamang's life sentence
stands. The High Court availed itself of its perogative to
extend the sentences of the co-conspirators. Angaibbak and
Deikme will now serve eight years, rather than seven. Ishak
Onawame, Esau Onawame, and Yairus Kiwak will now serve five
years, as opposed to eighteen months. Another
co-conspirator, Hardi Sugimol, died in Jakarta Police
Hospital from tuberculosis and AIDS-related complications
last December 1. The defendants' lawyers immediately
announced that they would appeal again to the Supreme Court.

2. (SBU) Prosecutors Anita Asterida and Fernando Siagian
briefed us on these developments on March 27. They told us
that, as expected, the defendants' attorneys unsuccessfully
challenged the original verdicts on procedural and political
grounds. They said that the appeal decision had been based
on a review of existing evidence and documents, and that no
public session had been held. The same would likely be true
of the appeal to the Supreme Court, although the court had
the option to hold a trial if new evidence were introduced.
They said they expected a Supreme Court ruling in about two
months' time. If the Supreme Court upholds the guilty
verdicts, the defendants have no further appeal options.
HEFFERN

© Scoop Media