Prosecutors firm on charges against subversion suspects<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Prosecutors stood firm yesterday on their
\nindictments against labor leader Muchtar Pakpahan and the nine
\nstudent activists standing trial for alleged subversive
\nactivities undermining the state ideology Pancasila.<\/p>\n
In six separate court sessions at the South and Central
\nJakarta district courts, the state prosecutors argued that their
\nindictments were \"clear and complete\" in law and called on the
\ncourt to proceed to the next phase of the trials.<\/p>\n
The prosecutors failed to respond to the defendants' claims in
\ncourt last week that they were not tried for the crimes they were
\narrested for, allegedly masterminding the July 27 riots, but for
\ntheir critical minds.<\/p>\n
The defendants are facing the maximum penalty of death.<\/p>\n
The prosecutors argued that the defendants' claims in their
\nrebuttals last week were inadmissible because they overstepped
\nthe Criminal Code Procedures which limit rebuttals to the \"formal
\naspects\" of cases, not the substance of the accusations.<\/p>\n
Defendants Pakpahan, leader of the unrecognized Indonesian
\nProsperous Labor Union (SBSI), chairman of the Democratic
\nPeople's Party (PRD) Budiman Sudjatmiko and eight other PRD
\nactivists refuted last week the prosecutors' charges of
\nsubversion, describing them as the government's attempt to
\nsilence its critics.<\/p>\n
They said the charges were only barely related to the
\nallegations made by the police, when they were arrested, that
\nthey were behind the July 27 riots which claimed at least five
\nlives and left 23 missing.<\/p>\n
The case against Pakpahan is being heard at the South Jakarta
\nDistrict Court, with that of Petrus H. Hariyanto and Ken Budha
\nKusumandaru, Ignatius Putut Arintoko and Victor Da Costa.<\/p>\n
The defendants' families and relatives, as well as supporters
\nsuch as government critics Ali Sadikin, Sri Bintang Pamungkas,
\nand Catholic Father Sandyawan Sumardi were present at the
\nhearings in South Jakarta court.<\/p>\n
In response to Pakpahan's defense team's rebuttal calling the
\napplication of the 1963 Anti-subversive Law outdated, prosecutor
\nR. Moekiat argued \"it still works as a tentative law anyway\".<\/p>\n
Moekiat dismissed the defense's claim that the prosecutors'
\nuse of the colonial Article 154 of the Criminal Code, known as
\nHaatzai Artikelen, was not proper because the document was
\noutdated. He said the law was still valid and there was
\nprecedence for its use.<\/p>\n
The law stipulates harsh penalties for those found guilty of
\nsowing hatred against the government. The prosecutors are
\narguing Pakpahan did this in a book he wrote and in statements he
\nmade between August 1995 and July 27, 1996.<\/p>\n
The cases against Budiman and his friend Garda Sembiring,
\nSuroso, Ignatius Pranowo and Yakobus Eko Kurniawan are being
\nheard in Central Jakarta District Court.<\/p>\n
The activists yesterday again protested the use of violence in
\ntheir arrest, and called the procedures \"illegal\" and
\n\"undemocratic\".<\/p>\n
\"What the prosecutors must answer is why we were detained in
\nsuch an undemocratic way,\" Budiman Sudjatmiko said.<\/p>\n
Budiman said the prosecutors' failure to respond to his
\nobjections about the manner of their arrest implied agreement
\nthat the procedure was \"illegal\".<\/p>\n
One of the activists' lawyers, Abdul Hakim Garuda Nusantara,
\nsaid the defense team was trying to prove the arrest procedure
\nwas illegal. \"If it's proved, then the activists could be
\nreleased,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He referred to article 156 of the Criminal Code Procedure
\nwhich he said guarantees everyone the right to question detention
\nprocedures.<\/p>\n
Budiman said he was not sure whether he would win the case.
\nThe court trials were not about upholding the laws, but about
\npolitics, he said.<\/p>\n
All trials are adjourned until Dec. 30. (08\/03)<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/prosecutors-firm-on-charges-against-subversion-suspects-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }