World

Mob torches official buildings after priest jailed in eastern Indonesia

JAKARTA Nov 15 - Thousands of people set fire to a court and prosecutor's office in eastern Indonesia's East Nusa Tenggara province Saturday after a Catholic priest was jailed for two months for libel, police said.

The mob burned the court in Larantuka after judges sentenced Frans Amanue for defaming the district chief, police said.

Dozens of police deployed in the area were unable to stop the rampaging mob also torching the nearby prosecutor's office.

``The court was completely engulfed by the fire,'' resident Ersa Wowor told Elshinta radio.

There were no casualties in either fires, police said.

Prosecutors charged Amanue with insulting East Flores district chief Felix Fernandez by accusing him of corruption in the purchase of a ship.

Amanue is a member of the local disocese's commission on justice and human rights. - AFP