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Indonesia jails man who fought off mob attackers
Published: 15/08/2011 at 03:32 PM
A video grab shows villagers attacking members of the minority Ahmadiyah Islamic sect in Pandeglang, Banten province, on February 6, 2011. Disturbing video emerged February 7 of a bloody religious mob attack in Indonesia that killed three members of a minority Muslim sect, showing extremists beating their victims to death. One member of the sect has been jailed for 6 months for defending himself.
An Indonesian court on Monday jailed a minority sect member for six months for defending himself and others from a lynch mob that killed three of his friends earlier this year.
The sentence was the same or stiffer than those handed out last month to 12 Islamic extremists who led the mob in the February rampage, including a teenager who was filmed crushing one victim’s head with a stone.
Human rights activists expressed outrage that one of those wounded by the mob should be jailed for longer than the leaders of the violence.
A panel of judges found Ahmadiyah sect member Deden Sudjana guilty of ill-treatment and ignoring an order to evacuate the sect’s property in Cikeusik, western Java, as the armed mob arrived.
“The defendant failed to act following the police order to evacuate,” one of the judges told Serang district court.
“Video footage shows the defendant started punching a man with a black jacket,” the judge added.
Wearing a traditional batik shirt, the 48-year old defendant heard the sentence in stunned silence. Later he told AFP he was “disappointed” with the ruling.
“It’s embarrassing. I’m purely a victim who has been criminalised in my own country,” he told AFP.
“There was no police order to evacuate and I hit the man because he entered our house of worship, calling us infidels, and ordered people to kill us. Isn’t it normal that I hit the man as an act of self-defense?“
Human Rights Watch deputy Asia director Elaine Pearson said: “The inconsistency between the trials of those who killed the Ahmadiyah and the trial of Deden Sudjana is appalling and smacks of injustice.
“Those responsible for the deaths of three Ahmadis got three to six months, and Sudjana also got six months – seems like the Ahmadiyah face blatant discrimination not just from Islamic militant mobs, but also from an Indonesian court.”
One of the mob, members of Indonesia’s majority Sunni sect, almost severed Sudjana’s left hand with a machete during the February 6 onslaught, which pitted about 20 Ahmadiyah followers against around 1,500 enraged fanatics.
A secretly filmed video of the Cikeusik rampage sparked international concern when it appeared online within days of the attack.
The footage shows police fleeing the scene as the mob – armed with machetes and knives and shouting abuse at the “infidels” – launched their attack.
A handful of Ahmadiyah men tried to defend the property with stones and slingshots but were quickly overwhelmed.
The sentence was the same or stiffer than those handed out last month to 12 Islamic extremists who led the mob in the February rampage, including a teenager who was filmed crushing one victim’s head with a stone.
Human rights activists expressed outrage that one of those wounded by the mob should be jailed for longer than the leaders of the violence.
A panel of judges found Ahmadiyah sect member Deden Sudjana guilty of ill-treatment and ignoring an order to evacuate the sect’s property in Cikeusik, western Java, as the armed mob arrived.
“The defendant failed to act following the police order to evacuate,” one of the judges told Serang district court.
“Video footage shows the defendant started punching a man with a black jacket,” the judge added.
Wearing a traditional batik shirt, the 48-year old defendant heard the sentence in stunned silence. Later he told AFP he was “disappointed” with the ruling.
“It’s embarrassing. I’m purely a victim who has been criminalised in my own country,” he told AFP.
“There was no police order to evacuate and I hit the man because he entered our house of worship, calling us infidels, and ordered people to kill us. Isn’t it normal that I hit the man as an act of self-defense?“
Human Rights Watch deputy Asia director Elaine Pearson said: “The inconsistency between the trials of those who killed the Ahmadiyah and the trial of Deden Sudjana is appalling and smacks of injustice.
“Those responsible for the deaths of three Ahmadis got three to six months, and Sudjana also got six months – seems like the Ahmadiyah face blatant discrimination not just from Islamic militant mobs, but also from an Indonesian court.”
One of the mob, members of Indonesia’s majority Sunni sect, almost severed Sudjana’s left hand with a machete during the February 6 onslaught, which pitted about 20 Ahmadiyah followers against around 1,500 enraged fanatics.
A secretly filmed video of the Cikeusik rampage sparked international concern when it appeared online within days of the attack.
The footage shows police fleeing the scene as the mob – armed with machetes and knives and shouting abuse at the “infidels” – launched their attack.
A handful of Ahmadiyah men tried to defend the property with stones and slingshots but were quickly overwhelmed.
Agence France-Presse
URL: www.bangkokpost.com/news/asia/251936/indonesia-jails...
URL: www.bangkokpost.com/news/asia/251936/indonesia-jails...
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