But many Papuans believe that special autonomy is useless and that it has failed to raise their standard of living, says BBC Indonesia correspondent Karishma Vaswani.
Sandiford's lawyer said it was very rare that judges delivered a sentence so much harsher than the prosecution had recommended, the BBC's Jakarta correspondent Karishma Vaswani reported from the court.
The BBC's Karishma Vaswani in Jakarta says the Indonesian people have been truly shocked by these attacks as they thought they had put events like this behind them.
Mining accidents are not rare in Indonesia, but they usually take place in unregulated and illegal coal mines with shoddy and outdated practices, the BBC's Karishma Vaswani in Jakarta says.
Tensions between Jakarta and Aceh have been running high recently over the decision by Aceh's parliament to use the flag of the now defunct separatist Free Aceh Movement as its official symbol, the BBC's Karishma Vaswani in Jakarta reports.