TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Australia will deport a convicted Indonesian smuggler to his homeland. Rakiba, 70 years old, was found guilty at trial of illegally smuggling a boatload of asylum seekers to Australia in 2012 by the high court of Canberra, yesterday. He was sentenced to 2 years and 2 months imprisonment. Because he has been imprisoned since June 12, 2012, he will now be deported.
Ernawati, First Secretary of the Indonesian Embassy in Canberra, said that Rakiba was taken directly to the immigration detention camp in Sydney awaiting further process of the deportation.
Last Monday, an Indonesian citizen named Erwin was also found guilty by the Brisbane Court after proven to have taken part in the people smuggling operation. However the verdict was changed to a probationary sentence. Erwin was caught by the Australian Navy smuggling 76 immigrants from Iran to Christmas Island on March 2013.
Erwin was sentenced to 2 years and 6 months imprisonment, but the verdict was annulled because he has been in incarceration for 333 days. The courts decided to deport him back to his homeland.
CANBERRA TIMES | ABC.NET | ANINGTIAS JATMIKA | NATALIA SANTI
