Indonesia hands lengthy sentences to Javan rhino poachers
An Indonesian court has handed lengthy prison terms to poachers who killed dozens of rare Javan rhinos, court rulings seen by AFP Friday showed, drawing praise from conservationists who said it would help deter lucrative wildlife crime.
The rhinoceros endemic to Indonesia's most populous island is critically endangered, with authorities believing there are only around 82 remaining in Ujung Kulon National Park in western Java -- their last stronghold.
In 2023 authorities uncovered a criminal gang that confessed to killing 26 rhinos over the span of five years in the 120,000-hectare park.
A court in Indonesia's Banten province this week sentenced the mastermind of the gang to 12 years in prison and gave five of his co-conspirators 11 years, according to rulings posted on its website.
All were also fined 100 million rupiah ($6,135) each, which would be replaced by three additional months in prison if not paid, said the rulings issued on Wednesday.
"It sets a strong precedent and delivers a clear warning to those who would threaten Indonesia's wildlife," Nina Fascione, Executive Director of the International Rhino Foundation, said in a statement Friday.
"Adequate justice in a case like this is critical to ensuring rhinos are safe from future poaching."
Irfan Suryana, a representative of an environmental collective based in villages around the national park, welcomed the punishments but said more needed to be done to prevent poaching.
"For many [of the poachers], such actions are often driven by economic hardship. Our responsibility is not only to prohibit such actions but also to provide education and raise awareness," he said.
- 'Break the chain' -
Authorities paraded the poachers last year, saying most of the rhinos were killed for their horns, which were sold on to dealers in China.
The horn is ground down to be used in traditional medicines, but scientists say it has no proven qualities.
Ujung Kulon National Park chief Ardi Andono told AFP Friday the sentences were the highest punishment possible for poaching in Indonesia.
"It is expected to have a deterrent effect. We will strive to break the poaching chain," he said, adding guarding of the park's entrances and patrols would be stepped up.
Ardi said three of those convicted accepted the decision, while the others were considering appeals.
In September a new Javan rhino calf was spotted at the national park -- the third in a year -- boosting hopes for one of the world's most endangered mammals.
"Javan rhinos are a large species that reproduce slowly, so it will take a long time to recover from this terrible loss," Fascione said.
"But we have brought Javan rhinos back from the brink of extinction before, and we will do it again.
agn-mrc-jfx/fox
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
15 hours ago
- New York Post
Israeli strikes that killed 9 Iranian scientists follows decade-long Mossad pattern of success targeting Tehran's top nuclear minds
The pre-emptive Israeli strike that reportedly killed nine of Iran's lead nuclear scientists Friday isn't the first time Tel Aviv has successfully targeted Tehran's top experts. Israel launched large-scale airstrikes against Iran on Friday, effectively assassinating some of the Islamic Republic's top military and scientific leaders, saying it had 'no choice' in light of Iran's rapidly advancing nuclear program and slow-moving talks between Tehran and the US. Since 2010, the Mossad – the cunning Israeli intelligence agency – has been linked to the precision killings of at least four other Iranian scientists. 5 The portraits of Iranian generals and nuclear scientists killed Friday hangs from a lamppost in capital Tehran. AFP via Getty Images The most notorious was the 2020 assassination of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh — a physics professor regarded by Israel and Western officials as the father of Iran's nuclear weapons program. Mossad masterminded the killing from outside Iran, through an AI machine gun mounted on a nearby truck. The device zoomed in on Fakhrizadeh's face and fired 13 times as he was driving by, killing him in under a minute, while his wife — sitting mere inches away — was untouched. 5 Mohsen Fakhrizadeh founded Iran's nuclear program. VIA REUTERS The attack succeeded despite Fakhrizadeh traveling with a security detail of as large as 11 men. Before that, a series of targeted killings in the early 2000s followed similar patterns, with Mossad taking aim at the scientists on their way to work. In 2010, Masoud Ali Mohammadi, an Iranian nuclear physicist who lectured at Tehran university, was killed when a bomb strapped to a motorcycle was triggered by remote control outside his home in northern Tehran as he was leaving. 5 Israel launched hundreds of air strikes against Iran this week, targeting its nuclear capacities. TASNIM NEWS/AFP via Getty Images Later that year, another nuclear scientist, Professor Majid Shahriari was killed in the capital when men on motorcycles rode up alongside him and attached a bomb to his car. Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan, the 32-year-old deputy head of Iran's uranium enrichment facility was killed in 2012 in a scenario that mimicked a Hollywood script — when two assassins on a motorbike attached a magnetic bomb to his Peugeot as he rode to work in Tehran. The strikes this week are believed to have killed at least nine top Iranian nuclear scientists, according to reports. 5 Fereidoun Abbasi, a former head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, was killed Friday. NurPhoto via Getty Images Fereidoun Abbasi, a former head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran who survived a previous assassination attempt in 2010, was among the scientists slain Friday. Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi, head of Iran's Islamic Azad University in Tehran, was also taken out by the Israelis airstrike on Iran's military command center. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Friday that his objective was to eliminate any Iranian threat to Israel. 5 Mehdi Tehranchi, head of Iran's Islamic Azad University in Tehran, was killed Friday. Tasnim News Agency The US and Iran were scheduled to have talks in Oman Sunday about Iran's nuclear program — but Iran's top diplomat said Saturday the talks were now 'meaningless' following the strikes.
Yahoo
16 hours ago
- Yahoo
'We are strong': Israelis defiant despite deadly Iran strikes
Tal Friedlander was grateful to be alive on Saturday after emerging from a bomb shelter in central Israel to find his apartment entirely destroyed by an Iranian missile strike. The shell of a residential building stood at the scene of the hit in Ramat Gan near Tel Aviv, with much of the block reduced to concrete rubble and mangled metal. The debris-strewn street was lined with the wreckage of several destroyed cars, an AFP journalist reported, a rare sight in Israel where advanced air defences usually intercept incoming attacks. Iran hit Israel with waves of drone and missile strikes overnight, with a barrage lighting up the skies over Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, killing three people and wounding dozens. The attack came in retaliation to Israel's massive strikes on the Islamic republic which hit nuclear and military facilities, killed top commanders, nuclear scientists and dozens of civilians, and sought to destroy the country's defence capabilities. Friedlander said he saw interceptions in the sky before the sirens blared out. "We quickly went into the shelter, and after a few minutes we heard a huge boom -- we knew it was something severe," he told AFP. "There was smoke inside the shelter, and the shelter started to break apart a bit. We were afraid to go out," he added. After 10 minutes in the shelter, Friedlander said he left to find his entire apartment completely destroyed. "It's only damage to property," he said. "I have to thank God that we are alive." - 'We are not nervous' - Air raid sirens and explosions rang out across Israel through the night, with many residents holed up in bomb shelters until home defence commanders stood down alerts. AFPTV footage from central Tel Aviv showed fire and smoke rising from a condo tower, a large hole ripped open by an explosion at its base. "They (Iran) want to destroy us," Friedlander said. "But we are strong... "That's the way it is, we have to keep going, defeat them, until the victory." In a residential area of Rishon LeZion, also near Tel Aviv, first responders stood atop the rubble of collapsed buildings, inspecting the damage. Kobi Cohen said the door of his shelter was blown away by the impact of an explosion which hit nearby. "All the windows, all the doors, all the glass of the windows burst but we survived thank God. That's the most important thing," he said. Cohen said someone was killed following an explosion in a nearby street, but "most people here have experienced wars in their life, so we are not nervous". - 'Trust in God' - On the beachfront in Tel Aviv on Saturday, the usually packed bars and restaurants were closed but a few dozen people swam, sunbathed, took selfies and walked dogs, seemingly unfazed by the overnight volley. "We got up, got out of the bomb shelter and went to the beach, had breakfast," said Tal, a resident of neighbouring Jaffa who declined to give his last name. He said previous attacks, including a missile barrage from Iran in April 2024, meant Israelis had become largely used to such events. "I think we've pretty much destroyed their plans of retaliation," he added, referring to Israel's unprecedented attack on Iran which has hit more than 200 military and nuclear sites according to the Israeli army. Dalia Neeman, 77, an artist who lives in Tel Aviv also said she believed Israel's campaign in Iran would "be for the better, for all the world". "Something's supposed to change," she told AFP. Neeman said she felt safe in Tel Aviv despite Iran's deadly retaliation. "We believe in God, trust in God to help us every time," she said. vid-acc/jd/ser
New York Post
20 hours ago
- New York Post
IDF warns ‘Tehran will burn' after Iranian missiles kill three in Israel
Iran's capital city 'will burn' if the Islamic republic continues to rain missiles down on the Jewish State, Israel warned Saturday, as the IDF proclaimed it had decimated the country's air defenses overnight. Israel Defense Forces posted video early Saturday showing some of its targets in Tehran as the warring countries exchanged missiles following Israel's unprecedented attack on Iran's nuclear capabilities and military leadership. 'Over the past 24 hours, the Navy's missile ships, the air defense system, and the Air Force's fighter jets and helicopters have intercepted dozens of unmanned aerial vehicles launched from Iran toward the State of Israel,' the IDF wrote in a post. 3 A destroyed building is pictured at a site in Tel Aviv hit by a missile fired from Iran on June 14. AFP via Getty Images At least three Israelis have been killed and dozens of others injured as the two countries traded fire over Tel Aviv, prompting the stark warning from Israel. 'If [Iranian Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali] Khamenei continues to fire missiles at the Israeli home front — Tehran will burn,' IDF Defense Minister Israel Katz said after an assessment meeting with the army's chief of staff. Khamenei remained unfazed, however, stating Iran will remain strong in its retaliation. 'We will not allow them to escape safely from this great crime they committed,' Khamenei said in a video message after Israel's surprise attack early Friday that killed at least 20 senior Iranian commanders, sources said, including the head of its Revolutionary Guard. Two of the Israeli victims — including Yisrael Aloni, 73 — died when their homes in the suburb of Rishon Lezion were struck by Iranian rockets, according to Israel's paramedic service Magen David Adom. 3 Israel warned that 'Tehran will burn' if it continues its attacks on the Jewish State. AFP via Getty Images Thirty-four people were wounded in the barrage on the Tel Aviv area, including a woman who was critically injured after being trapped under rubble. Israel's main international airport will remain closed until further notice, officials said Saturday. The IDF said it carried out its own barrage of overnight strikes on dozens of targets, including air defenses, 'in the area of Tehran.' 3 At least three people in Israel have been killed. REUTERS On Saturday, Israel revealed it had killed nine scientists and experts involved in Iran's nuclear program during its initial surprise attack Friday, up from the originally reported six victims. The IDF identified the newly confirmed casualties as Bakhouei Karimi, Mansour Asgari, and Saeed Barji, experts in mechanics, physics and materials engineers, respectively. Another 70 people, including military leaders, were killed in the strikes, with an estimated 320 wounded. Both Israel and Iran said their attacks would continue, raising the prospect of another protracted Mideast conflict — with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stating Friday that his objective was to eliminate any Iranian threat to Israel. With Post Wires
