http://groups.yahoo.com/group/tribal-melanesia/

Washington, DC - Hundreds of letters and faxes are being sent to the
Indonesian Ambassador in Washington, DC demanding the immediate,
unconditional release of American nurse Joy Lee Sadler and UK
academic Lesley McCulloch. Sadler and McCulloch have been in
Indonesian jails in the strife-torn region of Aceh for over 57 days.
Sadler’s health is quickly failing due to her HIV-related condition.

The two women were arrested on September 10 and have faced
beatings, sexual harassment, threats, long interrogation sessions, and
other mistreatment. Their Acehnese interpreter, Fitrah binti Amin, was
also arrested, but has since been released. Sadler and McCulloch have
been charged with violating the terms of their tourist visas, which
normally results in the deportation of foreigners. Academics, business
personnel, and others routinely travel to Indonesia on tourist visas to
attend meetings, conduct interviews, do research, and make business
deals.

“Joy Lee Sadler and Lesley McCulloch are being singled out because of
Dr. McCulloch's criticism of the Indonesian security forces,
particularly
the brutal repression of the people of Aceh. I fear that this could be
the
start of a government initiative to exclude independent observers
concerned with human rights and humanitarian conditions from conflict
areas in Indonesia. Indonesian officials have said they want to make an
example of the two for other foreigners,” said Kurt Biddle of the
Indonesia Human Rights Network.

“Joy Lee Sadler’s detention is particularly unnerving given her fragile
health and the abuse she has endured,” said Biddle. “Sadler and
McCulloch must be released immediately and unconditionally and no
harm or repercussions should come to Fitrah binti Amin.”

Joy Lee Sadler is a healthcare worker from Waterloo, Iowa who
traveled to Aceh to treat the sick and injured in refugee camps. She had

previously volunteered in East Timor with Dr. Dan Murphy at the Bairo
Pite Clinic.

Lesley McCulloch is an academic whose work has focused on Aceh. Until
recently, she was a lecturer at the University of Tasmania in Australia.

She has been an outspoken critic of rights abuses in Aceh.

The letter writing drive is part of a multi-faceted campaign that
includes
protests at Indonesian diplomatic offices, media outreach, and call in
days to lobby Sadler’s Congressman, Jim Nussle (R-IA), and Senators
Harkin (D-IA) and Grassley (R-IA) to free Sadler and McCulloch.

The Indonesia Human Rights Network (IHRN) is a U.S.-based grassroots
organization working to educate and activate the American public and
influence U.S. foreign policy and international economic interests to
support democracy, demilitarization, and justice through accountability
and rule of law in Indonesia. We seek to end armed forces repression in
Indonesia by exposing it to international scrutiny. IHRN works with and
advocates on behalf of people throughout the Indonesian archipelago to
strengthen civil society. For more information, see the Indonesia Human
Rights Network website, www.indonesianetwork.org
.

--
Kurt Biddle
Coordinator,
Indonesia Human Rights Network
kurt@i...
www.IndonesiaNetwork.org
P.O. Box 2162
Berkeley, CA 94702-0162
USA
(510) 559-7762 phone
(561) 760-0456 eFax



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 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/2518833.stm

Court told of army beating


Dr Lesley McCulloch behind bars in Indonesia

A Scottish academic detained in Indonesia has told a court she was beaten and sexually harrassed by soldiers after being arrested.
Glasgow-born Dr Lesley McCulloch, 40, has gone on trial in the provincial capital of Aceh along with American nurse Joy Lee Sadler.

Dr McCulloch said she had a knife held at her throat and Ms Sadler was punched in the mouth. She also told how she was sexually harrassed at an army checkpoint.

The trial has now been adjourned until 19 December.



I had a knife put at my throat and the army threatened to shoot us

Dr Lesley McCulloch
Both women have been held since 11 September when security forces stopped them in the south of Aceh province.

They are accused of violating their viasas by contacting armed rebels.

The area is the scene of a long-running conflict between separatist rebels and troops and police.

At the start of the trial, the prosecution said Ms Sadler and Dr McCulloch had "taken photographs, gathered data and documents and provided medical treatment" in a village in South Aceh where they were supposed to be on a tourist trip.


Dr McCulloch was arrested in September

The women said they could not refuse the demands of the armed rebels who asked them to take photographs of houses destroyed by the security forces.

In court Dr McCulloch said: "When we were arrested by the army Joy was punched in the stomach.

"I had a knife put at my throat and the army threatened to shoot us."

Ms Sadler said she witnessed the harassment in the police truck.

She said: "I saw Lesley get sexually harassed and when I tried to intervene I was hit in the mouth."

HIV-positive

Before the court hearing began, Sadler wiped away tears as she stood behind bars at the court's holding cell and told reporters she is terminally ill.

Sadler, who said she is HIV-positive, fears the proceedings will drag on until Christmas.

She said: "This is not fair. The judge wants to finish the case immediately but the jaksa (prosecutor) does not."


Dr McCulloch's parents are "disappointed" by the delay

"I don't eat. I feel sick. The doctor comes two or three times a week with special medicine they have to bring from America."

The pair's Jakarta-based lawyer, Johnson Panjaitan, said he cannot be certain the trial will end before the Muslim Eid al-Fitr holiday which starts on 6 December.

The women are being detained in a room at Banda Aceh police headquarters.

The charges are punishable by up to five years in jail.

Dr McCulloch's mother, Mattie, who lives in Dunoon, said she was extremely disappointed by the delay.