`Tempo' chief editor testifies to assault by Tomy backers<\/p>\n
M. Taufiqurrahman, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Tempo chief editor Bambang Harymurti told the Central Jakarta
\nDistrict Court on Tuesday that he was assaulted by David Tjioe
\nalias A Miauw, a minion of tycoon Tomy Winata, at the Central
\nJakarta Police station, under the watchful eyes of policemen.<\/p>\n
He made the statement in the trial of David, who along with
\nother supporters of Tomy, stormed the weekly's office on Jl.
\nProklamasi, Central Jakarta, on March 8, and assaulted several
\njournalists. The crowd demanded that the journalists reveal the
\nsource of an article which they asserted had harmed Tomy's
\nbusiness interests.<\/p>\n
Bambang told the court that Tomy's supporters later took him
\nand fellow journalists, Ahmad Taufik and Karaniya Darmasaputra,
\nto the police station in Kramat, Central Jakarta, where David and
\nhis men intimidated and hit him several times.<\/p>\n
\"He hit me right in the stomach and later kicked my left foot
\nout of rage.<\/p>\n
\"Lastly he caressed my head and threatened me in intimidating
\nlanguage,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Bambang said that during the \"interrogation\" at the police
\nstation, David even asked for a gun to shoot him.<\/p>\n
David and Hidayat Lukman alias Teddy Uban, who was tried
\nseparately, were charged with violating Article 335 of the
\nCriminal Code on encouraging others to perpetrate acts of
\nviolence, which carries a maximum punishment of one year in
\nprison.<\/p>\n
Asked by presiding judge Sunaryo if the defendant conducted
\nthe interrogation merely as a joke, Bambang said: \"They meant
\nwhat they did, and the fact was we were being intimidated at that
\ntime.\"<\/p>\n
Bambang regretted the fact that the police did nothing to
\nprevent the journalists from being harassed further by David.<\/p>\n
\"Not only did they harass us, they also insulted the police.
\nDavid even said that a number of policemen were on Tomy's
\npayroll,\" he said.<\/p>\n
David, according to Bambang, went even further by saying that
\nhe was the one who had provided the lights in the police station.<\/p>\n
What Bambang said during the trial was no different from a
\nchronology of the attack which has been written by journalist
\nTaufik on the Internet.<\/p>\n
Taufik was scheduled to testify in Teddy's trial on Tuesday,
\nbut he failed to turn up.<\/p>\n
Through a letter sent to chief prosecutor Ramdhanu Dwiyantoro,
\nTaufik said that he would not attend the hearing unless his
\nsafety was guaranteed.<\/p>\n
Taufik said that if the police themselves failed to prevent
\nviolence from taking place within their own compound, he worried
\nthat such violence could also occur in court.<\/p>\n
\"I request to have members of the marine corps to protect me
\nbefore, during and after the coming trials. It has been proven
\nthat in the past the presence of the marines has managed to keep
\na trial neutral amid the conflicting interests of the Indonesian
\nMilitary,\" he said in a letter read by the prosecutor.<\/p>\n
Taufik's request, however, will not be fulfilled as
\nprosecutors insisted on having their long-time partners, the
\npolice, provide security for the trial's key witnesses.<\/p>\n
Both trials will resume next Tuesday.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/tempo-chief-editor-testifies-to-assault-by-tomy-backers-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }