Justice-seeking teacher to face trial<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Nurlaila is a humble teacher, but with a spirit of defiance that
\nnone of her fellow teachers would dare consider. However,
\nstanding up for one's principles can land otherwise good people
\nin prison when they butt heads with governmental leaders in
\ncertain places.<\/p>\n
She used to teach at State Junior High School number 56, and
\nmost recently sued Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso in the State
\nAdministrative Court for dishonorably discharging her last year,
\nbut now she finds herself on the verge of imprisonment for
\n\"running an unlicensed school\".<\/p>\n
Nurlaila's lawyer, Lambok Gultom, told The Jakarta Post on
\nWednesday that the case against her was proceeding quickly.<\/p>\n
She has been named a suspect in the case filed by the Jakarta
\nadministration last year, for refusing to leave the school
\ncompound. She continued teaching after the city had sold the land
\nand shut the school, in what she claims was a very dubious deal.<\/p>\n
\"The police told her to come down to the station on Thursday,
\nso she can be taken to the Jakarta prosecutor's office,\" said
\nLambok, who is a lawyer from the Association of Legal Advisers
\nand Human Rights (APHI).<\/p>\n
Junior High 56 in Melawai, South Jakarta, was officially
\nboarded up after a land-swap deal between the Ministry of
\nNational Education and PT Tata Disantara, a firm owned by former
\nminister of manpower Abdul Latief.<\/p>\n
She continued teaching on the school's compound for several
\nmonths after its official closure.<\/p>\n
Lambok said that state prosecutors would indict Nurlaila with
\nArticle 61(1) and Article 71 of the National Education System
\nLaw, which says that every education institution must have
\npermission from the state. She would also be charged with Article
\n167 for trespassing and Article 263 on forgery, because she
\ncontinued using the school's letterhead and stamp, he said.<\/p>\n
\"The charges are outrageous. First, she never established an
\nillegal school because she believes that the school should never
\nhave been closed down. Second, Nurlaila has taught in the school
\nsince 1994, so she did not trespass on her own school. Moreover,
\nthe school's compound is a public space, every one has the right
\nto enter it.<\/p>\n
\"Third, the stamp was already made by the school. Nurlaila
\nused it for report cards for the students' parents,\" Lambok said.<\/p>\n
Nurlaila and her lawyers avowed that the case was influenced
\nby \"certain interests\".<\/p>\n
\"Since I was declared a suspect, there has been no news about
\nthe case. Why is it that suddenly the case is handed over to
\nstate prosecutors' office when I'm suing the governor?\" she said
\non Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Lambok and a team of lawyers from APIK women's legal aid body
\nsaid that they would try to convince the prosecutors' office to
\nexamine the case carefully before it goes to court.<\/p>\n
The prosecutors will try to determine whether or not
\nNurlaila's case file is already complete. Should they declare it
\ncomplete, her case file would be handed over to the court for
\ntrial. Usually, it takes district court prosecutors two weeks to
\nprepare for a trial. If prosecutors declare the case file
\nincomplete, it would be returned to police for further
\ninvestigation.<\/p>\n
\"We would like to seek a chance to convince the prosecutors to
\nacquit Nurlaila on all charges,\" he said. (006)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/justice-seeking-teacher-to-face-trial-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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