(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-04-10 17:07

JAKARTA -- An Indonesian man was sentenced to 10 years in jail Thursday for waving separatist flag in front of the president during a ceremony in the eastern Maluku province back on June 29, 2007.

The defendant, Josias Sinay, was tried under the treason law at the district court in the provincial capital Ambon.

Other defendants are also facing imprisonment for a similar case, reported leading news website Detikcom.

Sinay and some 20 other suspects were arrested for performing the province's traditional war dance of Cakalele in an event attended by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

One of them carried the flag of the outlawed South Maluku Republic (RMS) separatist group.

The dance was unscheduled, causing embarrassment to provincial leaders. The incident later led to the removal of some high-ranking security officers in the conflict-torn province.