16.02.2012
After around 200 asylum seekers drowned off the coast of East Java in December, five military officers and a civil
servant accused of smuggling them are facing up to 15 years imprisonment.
Chief of the Brawijaya Military Command Murdjito said the officers would be fired from the force if they received sentences of more than 3 to 4 months from the court.
Murdjito, who was speaking at a news conference inSurabaya
The officers in question, he said, had been named as suspects in the tragic incident after he had followed up on a letter from the Tulungagung military district commander.
“The letter from the Tulungagung military district commander, regarding the handling of the case of the smuggling of illegal immigrants whose boat sank, stated that there were indications that three officers were involved in the incident,” he said.
Mudjito said an investigation conducted by the Brawijaya military police had turned up two more names.
The case of a civil servant from the Tulungagung district military command has been handed over to the East Java Police as the Brawijaya military police does not handle civilian cases, even if the civilian works for the military command.
All five of the officers are facing five to 15 years in prison.
Once the officers are done being questioned, they will be handed over to the military court for trial, Murdjito said. Some of their dossiers will be handed over to military prosecutor’s office this week and the rest later this month.
“We have coordinated with headquarters to anticipate and prevent similar cases from happening in other areas in Kalimantan, Sulawesi and elsewhere, especially attempts to smuggle immigrants from the west side,” he said.
“We have also coordinated with the Immigration Office.”
The military, he added, would step up security in other channels, including off the Situbondo and Trenggalek coasts.
Chief of the Brawijaya Military Command Murdjito said the officers would be fired from the force if they received sentences of more than 3 to 4 months from the court.
Murdjito, who was speaking at a news conference in
The officers in question, he said, had been named as suspects in the tragic incident after he had followed up on a letter from the Tulungagung military district commander.
“The letter from the Tulungagung military district commander, regarding the handling of the case of the smuggling of illegal immigrants whose boat sank, stated that there were indications that three officers were involved in the incident,” he said.
Mudjito said an investigation conducted by the Brawijaya military police had turned up two more names.
The case of a civil servant from the Tulungagung district military command has been handed over to the East Java Police as the Brawijaya military police does not handle civilian cases, even if the civilian works for the military command.
All five of the officers are facing five to 15 years in prison.
Once the officers are done being questioned, they will be handed over to the military court for trial, Murdjito said. Some of their dossiers will be handed over to military prosecutor’s office this week and the rest later this month.
“We have coordinated with headquarters to anticipate and prevent similar cases from happening in other areas in Kalimantan, Sulawesi and elsewhere, especially attempts to smuggle immigrants from the west side,” he said.
“We have also coordinated with the Immigration Office.”
The military, he added, would step up security in other channels, including off the Situbondo and Trenggalek coasts.
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