Witness held 'hostage' during unionist's trial<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The court trying labor activist Muchtar Pakpahan
\nwas marked yesterday with an incident in which presiding Judge
\nDjazuli P. Sudibyo decided to hold a witness \"hostage\" for
\nallegedly giving false testimony.<\/p>\n
Djazuli ordered Berar Fathia be isolated in a guarded room so
\nshe could \"clearly reconsider\" the statements she had just made
\nbefore the court. After about three hours, Berar was again
\npresented to the court and ordered to continue with her
\ntestimony.<\/p>\n
Pakpahan's defense lawyers protested the decision by the judge
\nof the South Jakarta District Court, saying it was legally
\nunfounded.<\/p>\n
\"I'll take the responsibility for that,\" Djazuli retorted.<\/p>\n
Berar was a relatively unknown activist of the Indonesian
\nDemocratic Party (PDI) who shot to prominence when she announced
\nlast year she would run for president in 1998. She had only given
\nabout 15 minutes of testimony yesterday when the judge accused
\nher of perjury, and ordered the prosecutors to take her out of
\nthe court room and to \"hold her hostage\".<\/p>\n
Berar was summoned by the prosecution to testify against
\nMuchtar Pakpahan, who is standing trial for allegedly undermining
\nthe state ideology Pancasila and defaming President Soeharto.<\/p>\n
Yesterday, Berar said she did not remember the \"exact wording\"
\nof the anti-government and anti-Soeharto speeches that Pakpahan
\nallegedly made on various occasions between June and July last
\nyear.<\/p>\n
Djazuli said Berar's testimony contradicted what she had
\npreviously told the interrogators and which was included in the
\ndossier on Pakpahan. The judge then ordered her to retract her
\nstatements yesterday.<\/p>\n
In the dossier, Berar said she remembered Pakpahan making
\nanti-government statements, including one which said President
\nSoeharto should be taken to court for upsetting the country's
\nrules of law.<\/p>\n
Berar said: \"The statements in the dossier were those that I
\nmade when I was not under oath, and I thought then that in court
\nI would be able to tell the truth, just like I did just now. Is
\nthat wrong?\"<\/p>\n
Berar said during investigation police interrogators wore her
\ndown by posing the same questions over and over so that she
\neventually agreed to sign the dossier regardless of the content.<\/p>\n
The other prosecution witnesses testifying against Pakpahan
\nyesterday were his fellow activists from the independent
\nIndonesian Prosperous Labor Union (SBSI): Mehbob, Rekson Silaban,
\nAzrizal Noor and Sulistri. Another witness taking the stand
\nyesterday was Umar Husin, the secretary-general of a new mass
\norganization Masyumi.<\/p>\n
Pakpahan told the court he had no objections to the witnesses'
\ntestimonies.<\/p>\n
Separately at the Central Jakarta District Court, Catholic
\npriest Ignatius Sandyawan Sumardi testified he had been thinking
\nonly of extending help when he decided to shelter Budiman
\nSudjatmiko, the leader of the banned Democratic People's Party
\n(PRD) currently standing trial for subversion.<\/p>\n
Sandyawan said he and other volunteers formed an independent
\nrescue center to help victims of the July 27 riots.<\/p>\n
\"One day someone claiming to be Yakob called the center and
\nasked me for shelter. When I went to the agreed spot, Budiman and
\nanother one called Petrus were also there, along with Yakobus.
\nThey looked very frightened,\" said Sandyawan.<\/p>\n
Besides Budiman, eight PRD activists including Yakobus Eko
\nKurniawan and Petrus Hariyanto are also being tried for
\nsubversion.<\/p>\n
\"I did not know them before. So, spontaneously I took them to
\nmy brother's house. He frequently helps me shelter my
\n'children',\" said Sandyawan who actively helps street children.<\/p>\n
\"Budiman told me he was afraid he would be arbitrarily
\narrested. He also said he was frightened because, following the
\nriot, the military issued a 'shoot on the spot' order,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The priest testified he found out about Budiman's position as
\nthe chairman of the PRD from the mass media. (35\/08)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/witness-held-hostage-during-unionists-trial-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}