East Timor 'massacre' commander cleared

A court has acquitted a military commander of crimes committed during East Timor’s break from Indonesia, the ninth official to be cleared over the bloodshed.

Lieutenant Colonel Yayat Sudradjat was found innocent of failing to stop his subordinates from joining an attack on a church packed with pro-independence supporters in Liquica. At least 22 people were killed in the April 6, 1999 attack.

Sudrajat, who was a top force commander in East Timor during the violence, is the ninth Indonesian officer to have been acquitted, leading human rights groups to describe the trials as a sham.