Police accused of abusing students<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The police physically abused two student
\nactivists arrested during a demonstration protesting the recent
\nfuel price hike, their lawyer told a court here on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Heppy Sebayang, the lawyer, said during the trial of the two
\nstudents that several police officers had violated the students'
\nhuman rights during their arrest, questioning and detention.<\/p>\n
Mixilmina Munir, 22, a leader of the Jakarta students' City
\nForum (Forkot), and Aris Wardoyo, 25, a member of Forkot, were
\nbeing tried in the South Jakarta District Court for violating
\nArticle 160 of the Criminal Code on inciting disorder. The
\noffenses were alleged to have taken place during a Forkot
\ndemonstration on June 16.<\/p>\n
Sebayang remarked that several police officers slapped both
\ndefendants when they refused to answer questions during
\nquestioning.<\/p>\n
\"There are human rights violations involved in this case,\" he
\nasserted.<\/p>\n
He also said that the indictments were inaccurate and
\nincomplete as they failed to specify the precise time and place
\nof the alleged crime.<\/p>\n
Mixil and Aris said in their respective defenses that they had
\nnever incited disorder as alleged by public prosecutor Lukimanto.<\/p>\n
\"We reject the indictment as we are innocent,\" they said.<\/p>\n
They also quoted the words used by the late Baharuddin Lopa
\n(former attorney general) who said: \"We must uphold justice even
\nif the sky is falling down.\"<\/p>\n
Judge Abdul Majid Rahim adjourned the trial until next week to
\nhear further prosecution arguments.<\/p>\n
Before the trial started, some 200 students from Forkot and
\nthe Jakarta Network (Jarkot) staged a rally on JL. Ampera Raya
\noutside the courthouse in support of their colleagues, causing a
\ntraffic jam.<\/p>\n
They displayed banners reading \"Free our friends\" and \"Dismiss
\nthe National Police chief, provincial police chief and the state
\nprosecutor.\"<\/p>\n
The students then attended the hearing, during which they
\nclapped their hands and launched interruptions, all of which
\nresulted in the proceedings becoming very noisy. (04)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/police-accused-of-abusing-students-1447893297",
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