Arrest of clergyman engineered, witness says<\/p>\n
Erick W., The Jakarta Post, Palu, Central Sulawesi<\/p>\n
Prof. J. E. Sahetapy, an expert witness in the trial of minister
\nRinaldy Damanik, told the Palu District Court the police
\nengineered the arrest of the defendant.<\/p>\n
\"I was the first person to say that the police should be
\nseparated from the then Indonesian Armed Forces (ABRI) during
\nformer president Soeharto's tenure. I want the police to be
\nprofessional, independent and no longer engineer cases. But the
\npolice still behave like they did during the New Order,
\nengineering Rev. Damanik's case,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The police have charged Damanik under Law No. 12\/1951 on the
\nillegal ownership of weapons. The defendant was arrested on Aug.
\n17, 2002, as he and a number of other activists were evacuating
\nChristians from Poso, which at the time was experiencing
\nsectarian violence.<\/p>\n
The defendant was charged with illegally possessing seven
\nhomemade rifles, four pistols and 144 bullets.<\/p>\n
Sahetapy, who is also a legislator with the Indonesian
\nDemocratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), called on the
\npanel of judges hearing the case, led by I Wayan Somanada, to
\nacquit the defendant of all charges. He claimed the arrest and
\nsubsequent interrogation of Damanik violated the Criminal Code.<\/p>\n
He said the police's behavior in this case resembled their
\nhandling of the 1995 murder of labor activist Marsinah in
\nSidoarjo, East Java. In that case, several soldiers and
\nexecutives of the watch factory where Marsinah was employed were
\nacquitted of all charges.<\/p>\n
Sahetapy also told the court that he spoke with a soldier who
\nwas present at Damanik's arrest who claimed the whole arrest was
\na setup.<\/p>\n
\"The soldier told me that the handmade rifles and guns found
\ninside Damanik's car were planted, but I don't want to disclose
\nhis identity,\" he testified.<\/p>\n
He also said the defendant could not be said to have been
\ncaught red-handed in the possession of illegal firearms because
\nthe arrest was not witnessed by the head of the village where the
\napprehension took place.<\/p>\n
Sahetapy called on the defendant's lawyers to draft a report
\non the case so that he could bring it to National Police chief
\nGen. Da'i Bachtiar and Attorney General A. Rachman.<\/p>\n
Another expert witness, Dr. George Junus Aditjondro, who has
\nstudied the conflict in Poso, testified that the defendant was
\nnot involved in any of the violence.<\/p>\n
Before this case went to trial the government prosecutor's
\noffice in Palu returned the defendant's dossier to the police
\nthree times for additional information and to clear up
\ninconsistencies.<\/p>\n
The conflict in Poso has left more than 2,000 people dead
\nsince 1998. Though the violence has tapered off since the
\nconflicting sides signed a peace agreement in December 21, 2001,
\nthousands of people are still taking refuge outside of the
\nprovince.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/arrest-of-clergyman-engineered-witness-says-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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