Protesting students appeal court ruling<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): One hundred and ten students who were pronounced
\nguilty of conducting an illegal rally announced on Wednesday they
\nwould appeal the Central Jakarta District Court's ruling.<\/p>\n
Each were ordered to pay a Rp 2,250 fine as punishment.<\/p>\n
The students, grouped under the Student Action Front for
\nReform and Democracy (Famred), said they would file an appeal
\nwith the Supreme Court.<\/p>\n
The defendants, who were arrested on Tuesday near the office
\nof the General Elections Commission on Jl. Cokroaminoto after
\nstaging an anti-Golkar Party rally, arrived at the district court
\nat 11 a.m. in four police trucks.<\/p>\n
Greeted by at least 200 student supporters, the defendants
\nentered four courtrooms which were respectively presided over by
\njudges M. Simatupang, Ali Akmal, Endang Sumarsih and Asmar
\nIsmail.<\/p>\n
After the judges rapped their gavels to open the trial, the
\nstudents stood up and interrupted the trial to give statements.<\/p>\n
\"Since we don't recognize the trial, we will leave the
\ncourtroom,\" one of the students said.<\/p>\n
Applauded by friends, the defendants then immediately left the
\ncourtrooms.<\/p>\n
In the absent of the defendants, the judges continued the
\ntrial, pronouncing the students guilty of conducting an illegal
\nrally.<\/p>\n
They said the defendants violated Law 9\/1998 on freedom of
\nspeech which obliges protesters to notify the police prior to
\nholding a rally.<\/p>\n
Those found guilty of violating the law are liable to
\npunishment based on Article 510 of the Criminal Code, a product
\nof the colonial rulers, which carries a maximum punishment of two
\nweeks in prison or a fine of up to Rp 2,250.<\/p>\n
A lawyer for the students from the Indonesian Student Movement
\nLawyer Team said he regretted that the judges reached a verdict
\nin the absence of the defendants.<\/p>\n
\"The judges should have examined the defendants and other
\nevidence before deciding on a sentence,\" the students' lawyer
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
During Tuesday's rally, the students demanded, among other
\nthings, that ruling the Golkar Party be barred from the upcoming
\ngeneral election.<\/p>\n
Similar incidents of students ignoring judges' decisions or
\nrefusing to appear in court have become a trend in the capital's
\ndistrict courts over the past few weeks.<\/p>\n
Earlier, a court fined hundreds of students found guilty of
\nconducting illegal rallies between Rp 2,000 and Rp 2,250.<\/p>\n
Only a few students paid their fines.<\/p>\n
Many of the students appealed the court's decision.<\/p>\n
Others refused to pay the fine and declined to state whether
\nthey accepted the sentence or would lodge an appeal. Instead they
\nwalked out of the courtroom.<\/p>\n
Legal practitioners have also asked students on trial to
\nrespect the court and obey the law. (jun)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/protesting-students-appeal-court-ruling-1447893297",
"image": ""
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