[JURIST] The Supreme Court of Indonesia has denied the appeal [Metro TV report, in Bahasa Indonesian] of pro-Indonesia militia leader Eurico Guterres [Wikipedia profile] for charges stemming from his involvement in massacres that occurred during the 1999 violence in East Timor [PBS backgrounder], according to Jakarta's Metro TV [media website] Monday. Guterres, who was free while his appeal was heard, will now be sent to prison to serve a 10-year sentence. The country's high court meets in private and does not publicize its verdicts, so it is unknown when the appeal was actually rejected.

Guterres' conviction marks only the second time that a court in Indonesia has punished someone over the East Timor [JURIST news archive; HRW backgrounder] violence that left more than 1,400 people dead and the capital, Dili, largely demolished after citizens voted against continuing under Indonesian rule. In January, East Timor President Xanana Gusmao [BBC profile] presented a report [JURIST report] to the UN alleging widespread atrocities committed by the Indonesian government while it ruled the country. AP has more.