Protesting students walk out of trial<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Preceded by their lawyers, all of the 47
\nstudents on trial at the Central Jakarta District Court charged
\nwith holding an illegal rally walked out of the courtroom on
\nFriday before the judges could read their verdicts.<\/p>\n
The defendants, from the Perbanas economic and banking
\ninstitute, made the decision after the judges rejected their
\nlawyers' request to postpone the trial.<\/p>\n
The students, arrested on Thursday in front of the central
\nBank Indonesia main office on Jl. Budi Kemuliaan, Central
\nJakarta, were tried in two courtrooms, presided over by judges
\nPaiman Martoredjo and Hupoyo.<\/p>\n
Accompanied by eight lawyers from the Jakarta Legal Aid
\nInstitute, the students arrived at the court at 11 a.m. in two
\npolice trucks and entered the courtrooms already packed with
\ntheir colleagues.<\/p>\n
In one room, lawyer Surya Tjandra asked judge Paiman to
\npostpone the trial until Tuesday, arguing that the students were
\nexhausted after spending a night in police detention.<\/p>\n
\"Besides that, we also want to present our witnesses.
\nTherefore, we request your honor to delay the trial. If this is
\nnot allowed, we will walk out of this room,\" Surya told the
\njudge.<\/p>\n
Paiman responded to the court that the lawyer's demand could
\nnot be met and the trial would continue. He explained that the
\ncase was categorized as a fast trial, which should be decided
\nwithin one day, as stipulated in Article 207 (a) of the Criminal
\nCode Procedure.<\/p>\n
\"You can walk out if you want,\" he told Surya and his three
\nfellow lawyers in the courtroom.<\/p>\n
Without giving further argument, the lawyers left the
\ncourtroom, followed by the students.<\/p>\n
Paiman appeared upset by the incident, saying that the
\nstudents and their lawyers had no respect for the court.<\/p>\n
\"The lawyers could leave the room, but I did not allow the
\ndefendants to leave the room. I had not even decided the verdict
\nyet. They did not respect the court,\" he told those remaining in
\nthe room.<\/p>\n
A similar scene occurred in the other courtroom.<\/p>\n
The judges agreed to continue the trial without the defendants
\nor their lawyers. The court then heard testimony from police
\nofficers.<\/p>\n
Both judges fined all 47 students Rp 2,000 (US 25 cents) each,
\nwhich could be substituted with three days in prison.<\/p>\n
While the judges continued the trial, the students were seen
\nsitting in the court compound. They were unable to leave the area
\nas the gate was locked and guarded by dozens of police officers.<\/p>\n
One of the students, Herman, regretted the judges' decision
\nnot to postpone the trial.<\/p>\n
\"We did not conduct a rally. We were about to meet officials
\nfrom the central bank, and we had already obtained the bank's
\napproval to hold a dialog on the bank's recapitalization and
\nliquidation plans,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He said they were arrested at 1:30 p.m., a few minutes before
\nthey were to enter the bank's compound.<\/p>\n
\"We had been informed that the bank's officials were ready to
\nreceive us,\" he said.<\/p>\n
According to lawyer Surya, the Criminal Code Procedure
\npermitted the judges to postpone the trial for up to a week.<\/p>\n
\"How could we give respect to the judges, if they run the
\ntrial without even considering our demands. They just follow the
\npolice instructions,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Another lawyer, Daniel Panjaitan, said his clients were
\nconsidering to appeal the judges' decision at the Supreme Court.<\/p>\n
The students left the court compound at 3 p.m. in a bus, after
\ntheir lawyers met with the judges and Central Jakarta Police
\nChief Lt. Col. Iman Haryatna. (jun)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/protesting-students-walk-out-of-trial-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}