An Indonesian court has convicted and sentenced seven West Papuans on treason charges for their role in anti-racism protests last year.
The seven were handed sentences of between 10 and 11 months in prison by a panel of judges in the Indonesian city of Balikpapan.
Judges in an Indonesian court in Kalimantan as they convicted and sentenced seven West Papuans on treason charges, 17 June 2020. Photo: Supplied
The protests last August and September, sparked by racist harrassment of Papuan students in Javanese cities, were widespread and in some cases descended into deadly unrest by a range of actors.
In response, Indonesian police arrested dozens of people, including Buchtar Tabuni, a leading member of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua.
Yesterday he, two other independence activists and four university students, were given jail sentences far less than those sought by Indonesian prosecutors.
The 'Balikpapan Seven' have spent around nine months in custody since their arrests, so they are due to be released within two months. Their lawyers say they are considering an appeal.
The trial raised red flags for human rights defenders, not least because it was transferred thousands of kilometres away from Papua to East Kalimantan, due to what Indonesian officials said were "security reasons".
There's been a wave of outrage in Indonesia and internationally over the trial of these and other Papuans in relation to the anti-racism protests.
Some commentators have linked the current global focus on racism with the judges' decision to deliver sentences far shorter than what the prosecutors sought, in Tabuni's case a 17-year jail term.
The convictions come after a court in Jakarta in April convicted and sentenced six activists, including non-Papuans, for between eight and nine months in prison for treason, for their participation in a 2019 protest calling for a referendum of self-determination in West Papua.
