Indonesia's Supreme Court reverses acquittal of former official in slavery case

Indonesia's Supreme Court jailed a former government official accused of human trafficking for four years, reversing a lower court decision to acquit him after people were found in cages in his palm oil plantation.

Condemned internationally and at home, the senior official in the provincial government in North Sumatra, Terbit Rencana Perangin-angin, had been accused of human trafficking, torture, forced labour, and slavery.

Prosecutors launched an appeal after a lower court acquitted him of the charges in July.

Indonesia's Supreme Court said he would serve four years in jail, without specifying reasons, in a ruling dated Nov. 15 and seen on the court's website on Tuesday.

The Supreme Court and prosecutors did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Reuters has sought comment from Terbit's lawyer.

The macabre case came to light in 2022, when a police corruption investigation into Terbit found people detained in cages on his property, drawing condemnation from rights groups.

A police investigation found 665 people had been held in cells on his property since 2010, court documents showed.

Terbit, who was jailed for nine years for corruption in 2022, had previously claimed the detained individuals were participating in a drug rehabilitation programme.

Prosecutors said they had been tortured and forced to work on his plantation. Six had died in captivity, Indonesia's rights body found.