A Polish man has been sentenced to five years in prison by the Wamena State Court, after being charged with, and convicted of treason.
Jakub Fabian Skrzypski was found guilty of plotting against the government by being involved with separatist activists in Papua.
Skrzypski has been detained since 26th August 2018, under laws governing treason, with a maximum penalty of a life sentence in jail. He was found to have been in touch with Simon Wagal, a Papuan activist, helping to spread propaganda about Papua’s independence across Europe. However, the Polish national denied the allegations and stated that he was simply a tourist in Indonesia. The panel of judges disagreed, finding that he was guilty of violating all of Indonesia’s treason articles. Skrzypski’s lawyer stated that he will appeal the sentence at the high court in Papua.
Papua has long battled the Indonesian government through a separatist movement after a widely criticised UN-backed referendum in 1969. Papua is currently Indonesia’s most heavily militarised region.
Source: Channel News Asia
Image: Twitter