Last student convicted in insult case freed<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The last of 21 students convicted of defaming
\nPresident Soeharto during a demonstration at the House of
\nRepresentatives in December 1993, was released yesterday after
\nserving his fourteen month jail sentence.<\/p>\n
Adi Kurniawan, from Darul Ulum University in Jombang, East
\nJava, walked out of the Salemba Detention Center in Central
\nJakarta at 9:30 a.m.<\/p>\n
Dressed in a black shirt and blue jeans, Adi's appearance
\nignited noisy cheers of welcome from fellow student activists,
\nrelatives and sympathizers waiting at the gate.<\/p>\n
\"Long live Adi, long live students, long live the people,\" the
\nstudents shouted.<\/p>\n
The crowd of well wishers was smaller than that of his fellow
\nstudents released last year but Adi said it did not bother him.<\/p>\n
\"I am coming out of a small jail today, but entering an even
\nbigger jail called Indonesia,\" he vehemently replied to their
\ngreeting.<\/p>\n
Among the well-wishers were Adi's father, noted human rights
\nactivist H.J.C. Princen, members of the Pijar Foundation, and
\nAdi's school mates.<\/p>\n
Adi, a fourth year engineering student, told reporters that he
\nwould remain active in human rights promotion and protection but
\ncomplete his studies as well.<\/p>\n
Adi, saying that he had no regrets for what he did, joined his
\nwell-wishers in going to the House of Representatives to meet
\nwith legislators.<\/p>\n
Adi was part of a group of 21 students who were arrested in
\nDecember 1993 when they held a protest at the house in which they
\ndemanded that the People's Consultative Assembly call President
\nSoeharto to account for government policy.<\/p>\n
The 21 students were convicted by the Central Jakarta District
\nCourt in May last year for insulting Soeharto. The court then
\nhanded all 21 students six month prison terms, which meant they
\nshould have been freed on June 14 last year.<\/p>\n
On the last day before their expected release, however, the
\nJakarta High Court, acting on an appeal from government
\nprosecutors, upheld the guilty verdict and extended the terms to
\nbetween eight months and 14 months.<\/p>\n
The court argued that the terms were extended after finding
\nthe students guilty of contempt of court, saying that the
\nstudents had used the court hearings for political propaganda.<\/p>\n
Ten of the students, who were sentenced to eight months in
\nprison, were released on Aug. 19, 1994 on a Supreme Court order.
\nThe Jakarta chapter of the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation
\npreviously protested the court and their jail terms which should
\nhave ended on Aug. 14.<\/p>\n
Two other students, Masduki and Hendrik Dikson Sirait, were
\nreleased on Oct. 11, 1994. They were earlier sentenced to 10
\nmonths imprisonment by the Central Jakarta District Court.<\/p>\n
Another four students, who had also served 10-month terms,
\nwere only released the following day.<\/p>\n
The other four students, who had served one-year jail terms,
\nwere released on Dec. 15 last year.(imn\/pwn)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/last-student-convicted-in-insult-case-freed-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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