Indonesia sentences people smuggler to 6 years

Jakarta, Feb 20 (AP) An Indonesian court has sentenced an Afghan man to six years in prison for smuggling asylum seekers to Australia. The East Jakarta District Court found Dawood Amiri guilty of violating Indonesia's immigration law and conspiring with an international syndicate that smuggled asylum seekers from Indonesia to Australia. In its verdict today, the court also ordered the 20-year-old to pay USD 79,000. The court found he was involved in organising a rickety boat of asylum seekers that sank on a voyage to Christmas Island last year, killing about 90 people. Another 110 people on the boat were rescued. Indonesia has long been a transit point for people fleeing war-ravaged countries on their way to Australia.(AP) SJS NKP 02201630 NNNN