Prosecutors press on with Bintang's trial<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): State prosecutors urged the Central Jakarta
\nDistrict Court yesterday to proceed with the trial of former
\nlegislator Sri Bintang Pamungkas on charges of slandering the
\nhead of state, saying that his interrogation met with all proper
\nprocedures.<\/p>\n
P. Sitinjak, the chief prosecutor in the case, told the court
\nthat Bintang lost all privileges accorded to members of the House
\nof Representatives the moment the United Development Party (PPP)
\nexpelled him in February.<\/p>\n
When police began questioning Bintang in April, he was no
\nlonger a member of the House, Sitinjak said.<\/p>\n
The controversial politician had earlier urged the court to
\ndismiss the charge against him because the law protects a
\nlegislator against criminal charges unless there was a written
\npermission from the President.<\/p>\n
Bintang is being charged with insulting President Soeharto
\nduring one of his lectures before Indonesian students in Germany.
\nIf found guilty, he could be sentenced to a maximum of six years
\nimprisonment. The politician has denied the accusation.<\/p>\n
The PPP leaders initiated the move for his dismissal from the
\nHouse in February, saying that he had fallen out of the party's
\nofficial line on various sensitive political issues, including
\nthe political role of the Armed Forces.<\/p>\n
President Soeharto endorsed the proposal in May when the
\npolice investigation against Bintang was already well underway.<\/p>\n
Sitinjak said the endorsement was a mere formality, and that
\nBintang had already lost all privileges since February.<\/p>\n
He pointed out that, police had also obtained a written
\npermission from President Soeharto to initiate criminal
\nproceedings against Bintang in April.<\/p>\n
Bintang has disputed the existence of such permission because
\npolice only showed him the letter briefly during the
\ninvestigation but never handed him a copy.<\/p>\n
The outspoken politician was accompanied yesterday by his
\nlawyers Adnan Buyung Nasution, Soekardjo Adidjojo, Luhut M.P.
\nPangaribuan, and R. Dwiyanto Prihartono.<\/p>\n
The trial is one of three court battles Bintang is fighting
\nagainst the government.<\/p>\n
He has filed two lawsuits at the Jakarta State Administrative
\nCourt: one demanding that the court order the government to lift
\nan overseas travel ban, and another urging the court to declare
\nthe president's decision to remove him from the House as
\nunconstitutional. Both cases are still being heard.<\/p>\n
Bintang's lawyers urged the Central Jakarta District Court
\nlast week to postpone the trial pending the outcome of the
\nhearings of the two earlier lawsuits at the Jakarta State
\nAdministrative Court. (imn)<\/p>",
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