The trial must go on: Military prosecutors<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The trial of 11 elite soldiers charged with
\nabducting political activists last year reopened on Tuesday, with
\nthe military prosecutors rebutting defense arguments that the
\ncourt was not qualified to try the defendants.<\/p>\n
In the second session on Dec. 31, the defense lawyers had
\nargued the charges against the members of the Army's Special
\nForce (Kopassus) -- a major, seven captains and three sergeants
\n-- should be dropped because prosecution failed to differentiate
\nbetween \"deprivation of freedom\" and \"kidnapping\".<\/p>\n
\"It is possible that within one criminal act, violations of
\nlaw could result in two criminal charges,\" military prosecutor
\nHarom Widjaya told the Jakarta Military Court in Klender, East
\nJakarta.<\/p>\n
Article 328 of the Criminal Code stipulates that kidnapping
\ncarries a maximum penalty of 12 years imprisonment while article
\n333 stipulates that depriving a person of his\/her freedom carries
\na penalty of up to eight years.<\/p>\n
The courtroom, which was packed in the opening session on Dec.
\n23, was half empty on Tuesday. The parents of some of the 13
\nactivists who were allegedly abducted attended the session.<\/p>\n
Harom also rebutted the defense lawyers' arguments that the
\nJakarta Military Court had no jurisdiction in the case because
\none of the series of abductions was conducted in Lampung in
\nSumatra.<\/p>\n
Harom said the team of alleged kidnappers should be tried in
\nJakarta because they conducted and planned most of their
\noperations in the city.<\/p>\n
\"The order to arrest the nine witnesses was given and planned
\nin Jakarta,\" Harom said, adding that the activists were also held
\nin detention in the city.<\/p>\n
Kopassus was under the command of a son-in-law of former
\npresident Soeharto, now-retired Lt. Gen. Prabowo Subianto, at the
\ntime of the kidnappings.<\/p>\n
The elite troops were believed to be involved in the
\nkidnapping and torture of at least 23 activists early this year,
\nbut the charges against the defendants only relate to the nine
\nwho have since resurfaced.<\/p>\n
The prosecution argument, that the 11 acted on their own
\ninitiative out of desire to safeguard the country from subversive
\nelements, has been greeted with criticism by human rights
\nactivists who have called the court-martial \"a farce to protect
\nthe top officers of the military and Soeharto\".<\/p>\n
Armed Forces (ABRI) Commander Gen. Wiranto discharged Prabowo
\nfrom the military and released two other senior Kopassus officers
\nfrom active duty in August.<\/p>\n
Presiding judge Col. Susanto adjourned Tuesday's hearing
\nwithout comment on the prosecution arguments. The trial is
\nscheduled to resume on Friday.<\/p>\n
The prosecution asked that it be able to present five of the
\nkidnapping victims as witnesses on Friday, and listed them as Aan
\nRusdianto, Mugianto, Feisol Reza, Pius Lustrilanang and Nezar
\nPatria. (byg)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/the-trial-must-go-on-military-prosecutors-1447893297",
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