Major General Sriyanto Muntarsan, who heads the elite Kopassus military wing, faces 10 years in jail if convicted over the so-called Tanjung Priok killings, named after the port area of the capital where they occurred.

Prosecutors say 10 people were killed when troops opened fire on a crowd of protestors without first firing warning shots. Human rights investigators say at least 24 people died and 24 were injured.

The protesters were seeking the release of four people detained by the military amid a climate of protest against the autocratic rule of then-president Suharto.

Sriyanto, who was then a senior officer in Jakarta's military, denies the charges, insisting the unit responsible for the shootings had been placed under police command.

Defence lawyers have said troops at Priok were only following orders during the military-backed quasi-dictatorship that ended in 1998. They criticised moves to try the soldiers so long after the event.

The ad hoc human rights court this week cleared former major general Pranowo, who headed Jakarta's military police in 1984, of failing to prevent the torture of Muslim activists during the Priok incident.

The trials, which have yet to rule on 11 lower-ranking soldiers, are Indonesia's second attempt to bring soldiers to court for rights abuses after the trials of 18 defendants charged with 1999 atrocities in East Timor.

However, out of the 18, only East Timor's former governor Abilio Jose Soares and former militia leader Eurico Guterres have been placed behind bars. All active and retired military officers were cleared.

WAR.WIRE