Accused of treason, Christian separtist tells case to UN
Jakarta (AsiaNews) - Indonesia's Supreme Court rejected appeals by two Christian militant leaders, extending their original term from three to four year's imprisionment for their separatist activities in the Moluccas islands, attorney General's Office spokesman Kemas Yahya Rachman said.
The Supreme Court termed the case "an act of treason" for the militants' direct involvement in the South-Moluccas indepence movement, spurred on by the large number of Chistian inhabitants seeking religious freedom.
Earlier this year in January the North Jakarta District Court sentenced both Alex Manuputty, chairman of the pro-independence Maluccas Sovereignty Front (MSF) and Samuel Waileruny, an MSF senior member, to three years in prison.
The two prisoners then appealed to the Supreme Court. In the meantime, Manuputty and Waileruny were sent to prison March 17, but freed on Nov. 7, as their original detention term had expired.
After his release Manuputty left Indonesia for New York to speak before several human rights organizations in the United States, including the UN in February. He is expected give lectures on the Indonesian government's violations of human rights and give accounts of Christians being forced to convert to Islam in the Moluccas Islands.
It is not know if and when Manuputty will return to Indonesia to serve the remainder of his sentence.
Meanwhile the Indonesian vice president, Hamzah Haz, is visiting Ambon, the main island in the Moluccas archipelago, where he will speak to university students
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