"This court finds that the (Dutch) state acted wrongly through these executions and that the state is liable to pay damages in terms of the law," judge Daphne Schreuder said in The Hague.
Eight widows and one survivor from the town of Rawagedeh east of Jakarta took the Dutch state to court in 2008 to claim compensation for the execution of men and boys on December 9, 1947 by Dutch colonial troops.
The Netherlands has admitted that the execution did indeed take place, but argued that no claim could be lodged because of an expiry in the statute of limitations in Dutch law of five years.
Authorities in the Netherlands say 150 people died in the attack, while a victims` association claims 431 lost their lives. (*)
Editor: Kunto Wibisono
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