Activist faces 4 years for insulting Soeharto

JAKARTA (JP): The prosecution in the trial of political activist Tri Agus in the Central Jakarta District Court demanded yesterday that Tri be sentenced to four year's imprisonment for allegedly insulting President Soeharto.

Agus is an activist with the Pijar Foundation, a non- government organization well-known for its outspokenness, as well as editor of the foundation's hard-hitting periodical Kabar dari Pijar (News from Pijar).

According to prosecutor Baginda Lumban Gaol, Agus has violated article 134 of the Criminal Code.

Under the law, anyone convicted under that article is liable to a maximum of six years' imprisonment.

Baginda said it had been proved that Agus wrote an article in the foundation's periodical published in June last year under a headline quoting a remark by human rights activist Adnan Buyung Nasution.

The accused also distributed the periodical among the public, Baginda said.

Mitigating factors in the case against Tri Agus, according to Baginda, included the fact that Tri Agus had behaved courteously during the trial, admitted his conduct and was still young. The prosecutor added that Agus had never been sentenced by a court of justice before.

On the other hand, he said, aggravating factors included the fact that the accused was well-educated and could be expected to have known that his writing and language used could have weakened the public's trust in the government.

The trial has been presided over by Justice Leo Hutagalung.

Agus's defense lawyer, Bambang Widjajanto, told The Jakarta Post yesterday's trial session had been adjourned for four hours to enable the prosecutor to consult the high prosecutor's office.

"According to Baginda, he was at the high prosecutor's office until 2 p.m.," Bambang said.

At the next sitting, which will take place on Friday next week, the defense will be presented.

Agus was arrested on March 9 on the charge of violating article 154 of the Criminal Code, which forbids insulting the government in public. The article carries a maximum sentence of seven years imprisonment. The charge was later changed to that of insulting the President, under article 134, which carries the lesser maximum penalty of six years' imprisonment.

Last year, another Pijar Foundation activist, Nuku Soleiman, was sentenced to four years' in jail, under the same article, after he was convicted of insulting President Soeharto during a demonstration. (01)