'Tempo' attack trial starts<\/p>\n
Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The Central Jakarta District Court is scheduled to begin hearing
\non Wednesday a trial that the media and the wider public will be
\nwatching very closely.<\/p>\n
It is not the trial related to the 1998 May riots or the two
\nSemanggi shootings that occurred a few months later. No, those
\ncases remain unresolved, despite the fact that the riots claimed
\nhundreds of lives and several other people were killed in the
\nSemanggi shootings.<\/p>\n
The defendants in Wednesday's trial will be David, alias A
\nMiauw, and Hidayat Lukman, alias Teddy Uban. They were among a
\ngroup of people who allegedly attacked the office of the Tempo
\nweekly on Jl. Proklamasi in Central Jakarta on March 8 and
\nassaulted several journalists, including the weekly's chief
\neditor Bambang Harymurti.<\/p>\n
\"They will be tried separately on Wednesday,\" a member of the
\ndefendants' legal team, Jamaluddin Lamanda, told The Jakarta
\nPost.<\/p>\n
A panel of judges, comprising presiding judge Sunaryo, Ridwan
\nMansyur and Dwiarso Budi, will hear both cases.<\/p>\n
About 200 people staged a rally at the Tempo office on March
\n8, demanding the retraction of an article they said harmed the
\nbusiness interests of their patron, Artha Graha Group boss Tomy
\nWinata.<\/p>\n
The article inferred that the businessman, who is known to
\nhave ties with military officers, might have had some involvement
\nwith the mid-February fire that devastated the Tanah Abang
\ntextile market.<\/p>\n
The protesters entered the Tempo office and took Bambang and
\njournalists Ahmad Taufik and Karaniya Dharmasaputra to the
\nCentral Jakarta Police station for \"further discussions\".<\/p>\n
At both the Tempo office and at the police station the
\njournalists were harassed and assaulted, which the police
\nofficers present did nothing to stop.<\/p>\n
Journalists across the country immediately reacted to the
\nincident, launching a campaign to fight thuggery.<\/p>\n
The Jakarta chapter of the Alliance of Independent Journalists
\nfiled a lawsuit against the police last week for their failure to
\nprevent the assault.<\/p>\n
Even though there are many cases of intimidation against the
\npress, only five percent of them are sent to court, according to
\nAJI.<\/p>\n
Many observers, however, have questioned why the police case
\ndid not charge the suspects in Tempo case with violating the
\nfreedom of the press.<\/p>\n
The Central Jakarta Police have charged David with violating
\nArticle 335 of the Criminal Code on encouraging others to
\nperpetrate acts of violence, which carries a maximum punishment
\nof one year in jail.<\/p>\n
Teddy Uban was originally charged with violating Article 352
\nof the Criminal Code on minor assault, which carries a maximum
\npenalty of three months in prison. Prosecutors later laid an
\nadditional charge against Teddy of violating Article 335.<\/p>\n
The police have declined to explain why the suspects were not
\nalso charged under Article 4 of Law No. 40\/1992 on the press,
\nwhich carries a more severe punishment of two years in prison or
\na fine of Rp 500 million (US$55,500).<\/p>\n
Besides David and Teddy, three other people -- Yosef, Septi
\nand Abdul Haris Sumbi -- have been named suspects in the case.<\/p>\n
\"The investigators are still completing the dossiers on the
\nother three suspects, who have all been charged with minor
\nassault,\" Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Prasetyo told the
\nPost Saturday.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the police are investigating a defamation complaint
\nfiled by Tomy against Tempo over the article.<\/p>\n
Investigators have named both Bambang and Taufik as suspects
\nunder the Criminal Code articles for defamation and libel, which
\ncarry a maximum punishment of nine months and four years in
\nprison, respectively.<\/p>\n
They have also been charged with violating Article 5(1) of the
\npress law, on the media's obligation to respect religious norms
\nand public decency, as well as to adhere to the principle of the
\npresumption of innocence. The article carries a maximum penalty
\nof a Rp 500 million fine.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/tempo-attack-trial-starts-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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