Bogor police to release Juanda students today
Bogor police to release Juanda students today
BOGOR (JP): The police will release three Juanda University
students this morning after detaining them for almost a month on
charges of allegedly mobbing to death a senior officer.
Speaking on behalf of the Bogor Regional Police chief, deputy
chief Lt. Col. Pranowo told The Jakarta Post yesterday that the
students would be freed at 9 a.m. today on three conditions.
"First, they are not allowed to flee. Second, they are
prohibited from damaging or throwing away any evidence they
possess and, finally, they must answer future police summons as
soon as possible whenever called to do so," Pranowo said.
He refused to explain further but repeated that their case
would be brought to court despite their conditional release from
police custody.
Pranowo did not indicate when the three students -- Emon
Wahyudi, Tb. Ade and Syaifullah -- would stand trial over the
death of Second Lt. Dadang, head of the Bogor City Police
intelligence unit. Dadang was allegedly killed during a May 9
student demonstration on the Juanda University campus.
The news of the three students' release did not automatically
appease their 600 colleagues staging a second day of protests in
front of Pranowo's office over the arrests.
"We'll only stop holding this protest when we actually see our
three friends released with our own eyes," said Agus Malik,
chairman of the university's student union.
The students, who claim their friends are not guilty, also
asked the police to restore the three students' reputation and
take action against those who have tried to intimidate forensic
expert Yuli Budiningsih.
Agus said he had been informed that Yuli, who performed the
autopsy of the officer's body and publicly disclosed that Dadang
died of a heart attack, had received mysterious calls lately
trying to intimidate her and her family.
Yuli could not be reached for confirmation yesterday.
The police decision to release the students was apparently
made after a meeting Wednesday between Bogor Regional Police
chief Col. Abubakar Nataprawira and members of the National
Commission on Human Rights, lawyers and representatives of the
university.
After the meeting, Juanda University rector Abadi Soetisna
urged the police to unconditionally free the students, saying he
strongly believed that they were not guilty.
Abubakar said each of the three students would be charged for
mobbing, torture and fighting against security officers, which
carries a cumulative maximum penalty of between 32 months and 15
years in jail.
The police has accused the students of being involved in an
alleged mobbing that led to the death of Dadang.
The accusations became controversial when Yuli publicly
revealed her findings.
The three students have been reportedly tortured during their
police interrogations. (24/bsr)