Ari Sigit trial begins
Annastashya Emmanuelle, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
JAKARTA: The trial of former president Soeharto's grandson Ari Haryo Wibowo, alias Ari Sigit, commenced on Tuesday at the Central Jakarta District Court.
Ari Sigit, 31, has been charged under Article 1, Paragraph 1 of Emergency Law No.12/1951 on the illegal possession of firearms and ammunition, according to prosecutor Surung Aritonang who read out the charges.
If found guilty, the eldest son of Sigit Harjoyudanto, the eldest son of Soeharto, could be sentenced to death or face life imprisonment.
Ari who was wearing a crisp blue shirt and a patterned tie, sat calmly before the court while the prosecutor read out the three-page indictment.
The prosecutor said that 70 bullets had been found during a search of Ari's house on Jl. Yusuf Adiwinata 6, Menteng, Central Jakarta, on Aug. 13, 2001.
The search was for his uncle Hutomo Mandala Putra, alias Tommy Soeharto, who has been named a suspect in the murder of Supreme Court justice Saifuddin Kartasasmita.
The bullets were found in a red and blue bag bought by the defendant when he was in the United States with his wife Gusti Maya Firanti Noor, according to the prosecutor.
Ari was detained at the city police headquarters on Aug. 14 and moved to Salemba Penitentiary in Central Jakarta on Sept. 21.
After the prosecutor finished reading out the indictment, Ari said he did not understand it.
"I don't understand whether I'm accused of storing, taking or possessing the bullets," he told the court, presided over by Judge Heri Suwantoro.
Right after the prosecutor read out the indictment, Juan Felix Tampubolon, the leader of the defendant's team of lawyers, immediately objected.
Ari's lawyer contested the charges, saying they were obscure, and questioned the legality of the search conducted at Ari's home, saying it was against procedure.
"The crime was not stated clearly in the indictment and my client's crime was not described in a comprehensive way, thus causing confusion," Felix told the court.
None of the Soehartos were present at the court, while the courtroom was packed with dozens of journalists.
When the session ended, Ari made no comment when reporters surrounded him, while a number of bodyguards in civilian clothes formed a cordon around him and whisked him out of the courtroom.
Felix reiterated the obscurity of the indictment while stating that the bullets found at his client's resident did not belong to Ari.
"We have no idea where the bullets came from ... suddenly they were found there," Felix told reporters.
The trial will resume next week.