Indictment in gang rape case not valid: Lawyers<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Defense lawyers in the gang rape and robbery
\ncase, which took place in a village near Bekasi in July, told the
\nlocal district court yesterday that the defendants were victims
\nof mistaken identity and thus their indictments are unacceptable.<\/p>\n
The lawyers told three hearings that the police had arrested
\nthe wrong people after investigating the case.<\/p>\n
The district court of Bekasi regency, located 30 km southeast
\nof Jakarta, yesterday heard the statements by 15 defense lawyers
\nfor the 11 defendants, charged of the gang rape of Acan's wife
\nand his two daughters.<\/p>\n
They were also accused of robbing the family's jewelry and of
\npossession of arms.<\/p>\n
Petrus Bala Pattyona, one of the lawyers, told the court that
\nthe names of some of the defendants mentioned in last week's
\nindictment by the prosecutors are not identical to those now
\nstanding trial here.<\/p>\n
"This means that the indictment is invalid," he said. Citing
\nexamples, he said defendant Mamat according to the indictment was
\nborn on April 4, 1972 when his true birth date was Feb. 4, 1972.<\/p>\n
He also said that Deddy Setiawan, another defendant, has never
\nhad an alias such as 'Badut' as mentioned in the indictment.<\/p>\n
"Therefore we ask the panel of judges to declare the
\nconvictions invalid according to the law," Petrus said.<\/p>\n
The lawyers reminded the court that in August they tried to
\nsue the police for illegally arresting the suspects but they had
\nto cancel the plan due to the authorities' refusal to protect
\ntheir personal safety.<\/p>\n
Role<\/p>\n
The lawyers said the indictment also failed to specify the
\nrole of each defendant and the interconnection between them.<\/p>\n
Aidi Johan, another defense lawyer, said that there is no
\nclear explanation in the indictment on how the defendants
\ncommitted the crime as stipulated in the paragraph of the
\ncriminal code applicable to their case.<\/p>\n
"It is not clear who raped the victims and who their
\naccomplices were," Johan said. He added the indictment also
\nfailed to clarify how the rape and robbery were committed.<\/p>\n
According to the indictment, Johan said, the crimes were
\ncommitted separately.<\/p>\n
The lawyers also said that the indictment did not mention
\nclearly the shape, color and how the defendants used material
\nevidence such as the knife, and the rope in the crime.<\/p>\n
They told the court that they were convinced that none of the
\ndefendants was involved in the crime and most importantly that
\neach of them has an alibi.<\/p>\n
Chief lawyer Petrus Bala said that it is not possible for the
\ndefendants to have robbed two families at the same time as stated
\nin the police dossiers, on which the indictment is based.<\/p>\n
Petrus said that dossier, a copy of which was made available
\nto them by the police office, mentioned that the 11 suspects also
\nrobbed Rusni's family at the same time they were raping and
\nrobbing Acan's family, who lives one hour on foot away.<\/p>\n
The judges decided to adjourn the trial until next Thursday to
\nprovide an opportunity to the prosecutors to prepare their
\nresponse to the lawyers' statement. (03)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/indictment-in-gang-rape-case-not-valid-lawyers-1447893297",
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