As read in the Jakarta Globe of December 05, 2012
The Australian Federal Police and Australian media said on Wednesday that the former had arrested a man accused of intending to enter Papua to engage in “hostile activities” there.
The 45-year-old disability pensioner from Victoria state, Gerard Michael Little, attended a court hearing in Brisbane on Wednesday, at which the Australian Associated Press reported that prosecutors described a plan to fly to Papua New Guinea before making his way to the restive eastern province.
Prosecutors said he admitted to making comments on Facebook that indicated his intent to do so, according to APP, having allegedly trained for incursion into foreign states in the Ukraine.
“When your honor considers those comments, those admitted comments clearly evidence an intention on his part to leave Australia and travel to West Papua and engage in violence, relying on the training he undertook ... in the Ukraine,” prosecutor Williams said, as quoted by AAP.
Prior to the hearing, a press release issued by Australian authorities said Little was charged with “foreign incursion offenses following a joint Australian Federal Police [AFP] and Victoria Police investigation, with assistance provided by Queensland Police Service.”
“It will be alleged in court that the man traveled overseas to participate in training to assist in the participation of hostile activity offshore,” the statement continued.
The hearing came after authorities conducted searches on Tuesday of multiple locations in two Australian states.
“Six search warrants were executed yesterday [Dec. 4, 2012] in the Victorian suburbs of Caulfield South, Caulfield, East Bentleigh and Tynong North by the AFP and Victoria Police,” AFP said. “Two search warrants were also conducted in Toowoomba, Queensland.”
AAP reported that the Papua New Guinea-bound suspect was arrested on Tuesday night at Brisbane International Airport
It was not clear on Wednesday whether Little had made contact with anyone in Papua, which has seen a low-level separatist insurgency waged for decades. Entry into the province is restricted by the Indonesian government, with foreign journalists among those whose access is severely limited.
Little’s lawyer suggested his client was acting on an invitation, AAP reported.
“The crux of it is whether or not he was lawfully entering West Papua to provide services on invitation,” his lawyer was quoted by AAP as saying. “There is a big difference between entering a community on a mercenary basis, uninvited, like someone in a Hollywood movie, and someone lawfully invited to attend.”
Australian media reported that Little was denied bail on Wednesday due to flight risk, with his case scheduled to resume on Jan. 18. He faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison if found guilty.
( Not precisely news out of Indonesia, but too good to just let go by. How's about that! A budding 'would be' terrorist on a disability pension, advertises his intentions on Facebook, must habe been watching too many old Rambo movies, I wonder what he was going to call himself, Ram-Ho perhaps?) siK.
wo 5 dec 2012 - 19:40