Timor militia leader released from Indonesian jail
JAKARTA, April 8 (Reuters) - A militia leader jailed over deadly violence following East Timor's 1999 independence vote was released from prison late on Monday after Indonesia's Supreme Court cleared him of rights violations, a lawyer said.
Eurico Guterres was the only person jailed for the post-election violence, blamed largely on militia backed by elements of the Indonesian army. He was serving a 10-year sentence ordered earlier by the top court.
Suhadi Soemomoeljono, a lawyer for Guterres, told Reuters Guterres did not plan to sue the government but would return home to meet his family in Kupang, West Timor.
The release of Guterres is likely to anger human rights groups, who have criticised Indonesia's efforts to bring those responsible for the bloodshed in East Timor to justice.
Seventeen other men, who were indicted by Jakarta prosecutors, had earlier been set free following their acquittals by the appellate court or the Supreme Court.
The United Nations estimates about 1,000 people were killed in the violence but Indonesian officials have said only about 100 people died.
A truth commission set up by the two countries in 2005 is investigating the bloody events but it does not have any power to prosecute, and rights activists say it only serves to whitewash the crimes.
East Timor, once a Portuguese colony, became an independent state in 2002. It was ruled by Jakarta for 24 years until the vote in 1999. (Writing by Telly Nathalia, editing by Sugita Katyal)
