Canadian teacher Neil Bantleman, right, and co-accused teaching assistant Ferdinant Tjiong, centre, are escorted by a policeman as they arrive at the South Jakarta court in Jakarta on Dec. 2, 2014.Adek Berry/AFP / Getty Images
A Canadian man convicted of sexually abusing children at an elite school in Jakarta sent an open letter to Prime Minister Stephen Harper asserting his innocence and criticizing what he said was the federal government's neglect of a "gross miscarriage of justice and abuse of human rights" in a case that has been closely watched by foreign embassies in Indonesia.
Earlier this month, Canadian teacher Neil Bantleman and an Indonesian colleague, Ferdinant Tjiong, who both taught at the prestigious Jakarta International School in Indonesia's capital, were sentenced to 10 years in prison after a trial widely criticized as flawed.
The men are appealing the guilty verdict.
The U.S. embassy in Jakarta said it hopes that the appeal process goes forward in a "fair and impartial manner."
"Serious questions have arisen in this case regarding the investigative process and lack of credible evidence against the teachers," the U.S. embassy statement read. "In light of this, we are deeply disappointed with this outcome."
Doctors and some of the children who said they were abused gave contradictory testimony. Medical experts called by the prosecution have generally said there was evidence of rape; the men's lawyers said the evidence was fabricated and that there was no proof the children were abused. Critics focused on the testimony of one child who reportedly said Mr. Bantleman conjured a "magical" stone to anesthetize his victims.
A flurry of civil lawsuits have been filed. In a separate legal proceeding in Singapore that has no bearing on the criminal trial in Indonesia, Mr. Bantleman successfully sued one of the parents for libel after she sent an e-mail to other parents at the school accusing him of sexual abuse.
Mr. Bantleman's wife, Tracy Bantleman, on Thursday released a statement from her husband accusing the Canadian government of not doing enough to help the family.
"I am struggling to understand why the Canadian government has been so painfully reticent in speaking out about this gross miscarriage of justice and abuse of human rights. This is simply a case of extortion," the statement said.
"I, along with my wife, family members, friends and concerned community members, have written to you and your office on several occasions over the last nine months requesting your assistance. During this time, I have been detained, tried, and convicted of a crime in which I took no part."
The case is one of several that have dented Indonesia's international reputation after the hopeful election of President Joko Widodo late last year, the first leader to come from outside the Jakarta elite that has dominated Indonesian politics since the fall of the dictator Suharto in 1998. Mr. Widodo, widely known as Jokowi in Indonesia, is a businessman and former mayor of the small city of Solo and came to power with a reputation as being uncorrupted – in a country where corruption and bribery cases are commonplace among government officials.
However, this case, as well as separate cases involving foreign drug traffickers who have been sentenced to death in Indonesia, has led to criticism from Australia and other Western countries.
Canada's ambassador to Indonesia has met with Mr. Bantleman and his wife several times. Ms. Bantleman also met former Canadian foreign minister John Baird when he visited Indonesia.