Burlington teacher jailed in Indonesia will go to trial

(Updated)

Charges will be laid against a Burlington teacher who has been behind bars in Indonesia for more than three months. Up until this point Neil Bantleman has been held without charges. But his family says officials have now decided to go to trial.

His family told me today they don’t have any details on the charges yet or the trial. They are hoping to know more by the end of the week and then they will be able to decide how to move forward. They say this isn’t the news they were hoping for or expecting.

Tracy Bantleman is Neil’s wife: “We are utterly shocked, and completely disappointed.”

It’s not the news Neil Bantleman’s family was expecting.

Tracy: “He is in shock. Completely disheartened. And our whole community is reeling. This is unbelievable that this is happening.”

They were expecting Neil to be released, but have now learned charges will be laid and his case will go to trial.

Guy Bantleman is Neil’s brother: “Our focus had been on 120 days and Neil being released and as this has gone on and the lack of physical evidence and the preposterous allegations made we really didn’t feel like they would move forward.”

Bantleman has been in jail since July. His detention has been extended several times. But up until this point, he hadn’t been charged with any crime. He and a colleague were arrested during a police investigation into the alleged sexual assault of three kindergarten students.”

Tracy: “We were asked to trust in the process of justice and that the truth will prevail and our husbands are innocent there is no evidence that has been presented in the case and yet this is happening and they are being pushed to trial it is totally unacceptable.”

The school in Jakarta where the two are teachers has released a statement saying: “We are utterly disappointed that this case is being brought to trial. We are not aware of any credible evidence for the accusations against the two, and maintain our position that the allegations are completely unfounded and the teachers innocent.”

Guy: “His freedoms, whatever he has, his visitation will be restricted and what’s of importance now is his safety.”

Tracy: “We are extremely nervous and a little bit scared about the process going forward. These 2 men are completely innocent and all we can hope for is perhaps this trial will be a way to clear their names.”

Guy Bantleman has been in contact with the Canadian government throughout all of this. He says he’s upset that they haven’t taken a stronger stance. He says he’s not asking for them to get Neil out of jail, but to press the Indonesian authorities to provide some sort of evidence.

We reached out to foreign affairs today but haven’t received a response.