Bojong case trial begins, Komnas Ham blames project

Theresia Sufa The Jakarta Post/Bogor/Jakarta

The trials of 17 defendants of the Nov. 22 bloody clash in Bojong garbage treatment facility, Bogor regency, started on Wednesday at the Cibinong District Court.

In the trial that took place in three sessions, the defendants were charged with violating Article 170 of the Criminal Code on violent behavior.

In the indictment, prosecutors accused the defendants of having destroyed private property, including the plant's buildings, cars and equipment. They also used weapons and explosives during the violent clash. The protest involved around 1,000 protesters.

Another defendant, 15-year-old Atang Ombak, stood trial in a separate closed trial on similar charges. However, the court decided to postpone Atang's detention considering he is still a minor.

The prosecutors said the defendants had caused the plant operator PT Wira Guna Sejahtera to suffer Rp 8 billion (US$860,215) in material losses.

In Central Jakarta, around 200 Bojong residents representing seven villages around the plant held a rally in front of the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM), demanding the rights commission establish a special team to investigate human rights violations in the bloody clash.

Erwin Usman of the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) said the protesters demanded that Komnas explain the definition of a human rights violation. "We want to know their opinion on the Bojong incident."

Komnas chairman Abdul Hakim Garuda Nusantara told the protesters that the commission had made recommendations to the National Police over the incident.

"It is one of the projects that violates human rights as locals were not involved in the decision making process to build the facility," he said as quoted by Antara.