JAKARTA, 25 July 2006 - An Indonesian court has jailed 11 people for taking part in violent protests against a US-run mine in Papua province which left six people dead in March. Hundreds of protesters clashed with security officers near Papua's capital Jayapura over the mine run by US giant Freeport-McMoran in March.

'One was sentenced to six years in jail while 10 others were given five years in prison each,' said judge Morris Ginting, who sat on a panel of judges at Jayapura district court in Indonesia's easternmost province. Ginting said the defendants were accused of jointly using violence to resist the orders of officials on duty. Ginting added that the defendants' lawyers would appeal the ruling.

Critics have accused Freeport-McMoran of not giving enough to the people of Papua in return for the mine. They allege the mine causes pollution and that the military's protection of the site leads to human rights abuses.

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