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World

French journalists get 2 1/2 months in jail for illegal reporting in Indonesia's Papua

Associated Press
Published | Updated
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    French journalists Valentine Bourrat, center, and Thomas Dandois, right, consult with their lawyer during their trial hearing in Jayapura, Papua province, Indonesia, Friday, Oct. 24, 2014. The two French television journalists were sentenced to two and a half months in jail Friday for illegal reporting in Indonesia's easternmost province of Papua. (AP Photo/Djefri Pattirajawane) (The Associated Press)

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    Image 2 of 3

    French journalists Valentine Bourrat, center, and Thomas Dandois are about to shake hands with the judges during their trial hearing in Jayapura, Papua province, Indonesia, Friday, Oct. 24, 2014. The two French television journalists were sentenced to two and a half months in jail Friday for illegal reporting in Indonesia's easternmost province of Papua. (AP Photo/Djefri Pattirajawane) (The Associated Press)

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    Image 3 of 3

    French journalists Valentine Bourrat, left, and Thomas Dandois sit on the defendant's chair with their unidentified interpreter, center, during their trial hearing in Jayapura, Papua province, Indonesia, Friday, Oct. 24, 2014. The two French television journalists were sentenced to two and a half months in jail Friday for illegal reporting in Indonesia's easternmost province of Papua. Writing on the table reads: "Defendant." (AP Photo/Djefri Pattirajawane) (The Associated Press)

JAYAPURA, Indonesia – An Indonesia court has sentenced two French television journalists to two and a half months in jail for illegal reporting in the easternmost province of Papua.

Thomas Dandois, 40, and Valentine Bourrat, 29, were detained for tourist visa violations in August after filming a documentary about the separatist movement in the province's mountainous area of Wamena along with three suspected rebels.

The journalists for Franco-German television channel Arte were convicted Friday by a panel of three judges in Jayapura District Court of violating the 2011 Immigration Law. They were also fined $200.

They will be freed next week and immediately deported after their time already served is counted.

Indonesia is highly sensitive to the separatist struggles in Papua, a former Dutch colony taken over in 1963.