Yahoo – AFP,
Dessy Sagita, August 14, 2015
Canadian
school administrator Neil Bantleman (R) is reunited with his wife
Tracy
Bantleman (L) following his release from Jakarta's Cipinang prison on
August
14, 2015 (AFP Photo/Romeo Gacad)
|
A Canadian
and an Indonesian jailed for sexual abuse at an elite Jakarta international
school walked free from prison Friday to an emotional reception from supporters
after unexpectedly being cleared.
School
administrator Neil Bantleman, who also holds British nationality, and
Indonesian teaching assistant Ferdinand Tjiong were released from jail in the
capital after winning their appeals due to a lack of evidence against them.
Canadian
school administrator Neil
Bantleman (L) and Indonesian teaching
assistant
Ferdinand Tjiong are held in a cell
on April 2, 2015 (AFP Photo/Bay Ismoyo)
|
The pair
were jailed for 10 years each in April and ordered to pay a hefty fine after
being found guilty of abusing three young children at the Jakarta Intercultural
School (JIS), which has been popular with expatriates and wealthy Indonesians
for decades.
They
maintained their innocence and received backing from the school and parents,
with supporters accusing police of a botched investigation and alleging that
the men's trials were unfair.
Hopes that
the men might be released rose this week after a $125-million sex abuse lawsuit
against the school was dismissed, a suit that supporters believed was the main
reason the pair were being pursued.
But the
Jakarta High Court ruling in the men's favour -- which was handed down earlier
this week but only passed to their legal team late Thursday -- and the speed of
their release still came as a surprise after months of frustrated attempts to
challenge their convictions.
Bantleman
said he had no idea that he would be released until early Friday.
As the men
walked free, a small group of sobbing supporters yelled their names.
Tjiong --
who was carrying his young daughter -- said: "I thank God because the
truth still exists in Indonesia. I hope this will never happen again."
They
embraced their supporters one by one before being ushered into cars and driven
away.
'Baseless' allegations
Their
lawyer, Hotman Paris Hutapea, told reporters they were cleared as the High
Court ruled there was "no proof", adding that the allegations against
them were "baseless".
As well as
the decision by a Jakarta court to throw out the multi-million-dollar civil
suit, the men's case received a boost last month when the Singapore High Court
ruled in favour of the pair in a defamation case against the mother of one of
the alleged victims.
JIS is
backed by the American embassy -- which helped found the school -- and
officials from the United States have repeatedly expressed concern about the
case, saying it raised questions about the rule of law in Indonesia.
US
ambassador to Jakarta Robert Blake welcomed the men's acquittal.
"The
rule of law and an independent judiciary are vital components of any democratic
system, and we appreciate the fairness and prudence shown by Jakarta's appeals
court," he said in a statement.
The scandal
began last year with claims that cleaners committed abuse at the school --
previously known as the Jakarta International School -- before allegations were
levelled at Bantleman and Tjiong.
Five cleaners
were jailed in December over claims of sexual abuse and remain in prison. Their
lawyers claim they are innocent, and several who originally admitted to abuse
recanted their confessions, alleging that they were beaten by police.
The
expatriate community in Jakarta was initially shocked at the claims of abuse,
but horror quickly transformed into concern at what supporters say was an
unfair attempt to target Bantleman and Tjiong by Indonesia's notoriously
corrupt police and judicial system.
Despite the
concerns about the case, the prosecution insisted that the testimony of the
alleged victims was the truth.
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