Jakarta. The Jakarta Anti-Corruption Court on Thursday found former Papua Governor Lukas Enembe guilty of corruption and sentenced him to eight years in prison. In addition to the prison term, he was ordered to return Rp 19.7 billion ($1.2 million) in embezzled state funds and fined Rp 500 million. Failure to pay the fine will result in an additional two years of imprisonment.

Furthermore, Presiding Judge Rianto Adam Pontoh has imposed a five-year ban on Lukas Enembe from running for public office. This ban will become effective after he has served his sentence in full.

The judge, when reading out the verdict, specifically mentioned Lukas' disruptive behavior during the court proceedings, which included the use of profanities.

"The defendant has exhibited disrespectful and profane behavior within this courtroom," said Judge Rianto, citing this as an aggravating factor in the verdict.

The panel of judges has also rejected Lukas' request to unfreeze bank accounts held by his wife and son, citing ongoing investigations into separate money laundering charges.

Prosecutors had previously demanded a prison sentence of 10 and a half years for Lukas, who attended the sentencing hearing in a wheelchair.

Lukas has been accused of accepting Rp 47 billion in bribes from private companies that secured contracts with the Papua government during his tenure. He also faces a separate indictment related to money laundering allegations after the Corruption Eradication Commission seized a substantial sum of banknotes worth Rp 82 billion in various denominations from him.

The Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK) revealed that Lukas made payments totaling 55 million Singapore dollars (US$39 million) to overseas casinos since 2017. This information came to light after analyzing the governor's financial records at the request of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK). At one point, Lukas made a single casino payment of 5 million Singapore dollars, according to the PPATK.