Activist faces heavy sentence

Activist faces heavy sentence

SURABAYA, East Java: Prosecutors have demanded five years jail
for Mohammad Soleh, a local member of the unrecognized Democratic
People's Party, for alleged subversion.

Led by Ida Kemang Pulawidana, the prosecution at the Surabaya
district court said yesterday that Soleh had undermined the state
by inciting workers rallies in Surabaya.

"It has been proved that the defendant and his friends incited
masses of workers to demonstrate in Surabaya's streets," Ida
Kemang said.

The prosecution also accused Soleh of threatening national
stability and reducing workers' productivity, which adversely
affected the country's foreign income.

"The only redeeming quality that the defendant has is his
young age and the fact that he has never been convicted," the
chief prosecutor said.

Soleh said he refused to be cowed by the threat of
imprisonment. "I will continue my struggle to help workers for
ever. These charges are cheap political ploys," he said. "The
cause that I've been fighting for is for the good of the nation.
We won't give up."

Soleh's colleagues, Dita Indah Sari and Coen Hosein Pontoh,
are also charged with subversion. Prosecutors have demanded eight
years and six years imprisonment respectively for them. (nur)