Army major general skips two rights court hearings

Army major general skips two rights court hearings

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Maj. Gen. Adam Damiri still holds an important position in the
Indonesia Military (TNI) despite his status as a defendant in the
country's ad hoc human rights tribunal.

However, Adam irked the judges on Tuesday after skipping his
second court hearing because of military duty.

During the hearing, his lawyers told the court that Adam had
to accompany the TNI chief of general affairs to East Java in a
bid to inspect military preparations prior to the military
operation in Aceh.

Adam, who was the Udayana Military commander overseeing Bali,
West Nusa Tenggara, East Nusa Tenggara and East Timor, is the
operational assistant to the TNI chief of general affairs.

"We expect the hearing to be postponed until next week," said
a letter presented to the judges by the lawyers.

The panel of five judges agreed to adjourn the hearing until
next week, however, they condemned its postponement, as the court
was supposed to hear the prosecutor's sentence demand against
Adam.

"We expect all parties of this hearing to respect the court
because it has been postponed several times," presiding judge
Marni Emmy Mustafa told the hearing on Tuesday.

She ordered chief prosecutor S. Hozi "to do his best to bring
the defendant before the court".

The prosecutors supposedly presented their sentence demand
against Adam on April 10 but they asked for a postponement as
they had not finished the sentence demand document.

The court hearing was then postponed to April 24, but it had
to be postponed again because Adam had to go to Aceh to prepare
for the military's plan to launch a military operation in the
province.

No other rights defendant has skipped as many hearings as
Adam, who is the highest ranking soldier brought before the
tribunal.

Legal observer Luhut MP Pangaribuan said that Adam's defiance
to attend the hearings could be considered contempt of court.

"Both conceptually and morally, it is a contempt of court," he
said.

Although the country does not have a law on contempt of court,
judges can order prosecutors to forcibly bring a defendant to
court, Luhut said.

"Judges may consider a defendant's argument (to be absent),
but the court's interest should be put above everything. In this
case, we are talking about the court's integrity," he said.

The court usually allows a defendant to miss up to three
hearings, particularly for health reasons.

However, judges may order prosecutors to use force to present
a defendant if necessary. If a verdict is to be delivered at a
hearing, the judges usually deliver it in-absentia.

Adam is one of 18 security personnel and civilians being
brought to court for gross human rights violations in East Timor
in 1999.

He is charged with crimes against humanity for failing to
prevent bloodshed in East Timor in 1999. The offense carries a
minimum penalty of 10 years in jail.

Eleven have been acquitted and five sentenced to between three
years and 10 years in jail, although they remain free pending
their appeal.