2/24/11 Indonesia (The Jakarta Post/ANN) - The attorney for the members of HKBP church in Indonesia, Saor Siagian, has said he is disappointed by the light sentences handed to the 11 convicted in the attack against two HKBP congregation members.
"I am very concerned [about the verdict]. The verdict is hurtful to the victims and their families. The main provocateur received five months and 15 days' imprisonment," he said after the sentence was read at Bekasi District Court.
In September last year, HKBP Church Rev. Luspida Simanjuntak and congregation member Hasian Sihombing were attacked following a long-simmering conflict between congregation members and local Muslims who objected to the construction of the church.
Hasian was stabbed in the abdomen and Luspida was struck in the head with a wooden plank, according to eyewitness and police reports on the attack.
The Bekasi District Court Thursday sentenced three members of the radical Islamist group, Islamic Defenders Front (FPI), to between five and seven months in jail for the attack on HKBP church Rev. Luspida Simanjuntak and congregation member Hasian Sihombing.
Saor said the light sentences will fail to deter similar crimes from occurring in the future.
"If one is sentenced to only seven months for stabbing someone, the verdict might impel those who committed [the crime] to do something even more serious," he said, as reported by kompas.com.
He plans to discuss the verdict with the victims and their families and seek their opinion, he said.
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