Timor militiaman leaves jail

Guterres has been feted as a hero by nationalists in Jakarta

A notorious East Timorese militia leader on trial in Jakarta on weapons charges has been released from his prison cell and placed under house arrest, officials said.

He will remain inside the [house] until the end of his trial

Guterres' lawyer

Lawyers for Eurico Guterres - who has been linked to two 1999 massacres in the former Indonesian territory - have "personally guaranteed" that he will not flee.

Treated as a hero and "patriot" by nationalists, the pro-Indonesian militiaman was greeted by dozens of supporters as he walked through the gates of Jakarta's Salemba prison.

The militia leader - who describes his trial as "politically motivated" and says the real traitors are "lackeys of foreigners" - has been charged with snatching back illegal weapons handed to police.

Massacres

Mr Guterres has also been charged with blocking attempts by the authorities to disarm his followers in Indonesian West Timor last year.

More than 1,000 people died in East Timor after the vote

However, no charges have been filed relating to his leadership of the feared Aitarak ("Thorn") militia or the violence in East Timor during its independence ballot in August 1999.

Pro-Indonesian militias were blamed for the violence, in which thousands were killed and almost every town razed.

Correspondents say the trial of Mr Gueterres is being seen as a key test of Indonesia's willingness to bring to book those responsible for the 1999 violence.

UN monitoring

The UN - which has monitored the trial closely - has demanded that Mr Guterres be handed over to it for trial.

Militiamen were blamed for brutal massacres

"The independence of the judiciary here in this case would be a litmus test," a UN official in Jakarta, Lakhan Mehrotra, told the BBC.

While no-one has yet been sentenced in connection with the 1999 violence in Indonesia, where many suspects are now living, UN prosecutors have held separate proceedings against militia leaders in East Timor itself.

One man has so far been prosecuted and more than a dozen are on trial in the territory's capital, Dili.