Brawl breaks out in court

Brawl breaks out in court

JAKARTA: A brawl broke out between members of the Islam
Defenders Front (FPI) and the City Forum (Forkot) at the South
Jakarta District Court on Wednesday.

No injuries were reported during the incident.

It started when some 50 Forkot members tried to enter the
court building to attend the trial of their colleagues, Mixilmina
Munir and Aris Wardoyo. However, guards rejected their request
due to the limited number of entry passes.

When they insisted on entering the building the situation
became heated. At that point, a member of Forkot yelled Allahu
Akbar (Allah the great), which upset FPI members.

About 60 FPI members were at the court accompanying their
lawyer who was filing a suit against the Jakarta Police chief
over the arrest of 12 members of the Surakarta Islam Defenders
Front (FPIS) during a demonstration on Oct. 15.

Several FPI members accused the Forkot member who had yelled
the sacred words of being drunk, according to FPI leader, Taufik.

They then chased the Forkot members into the courthouse yard.
The Forkot members finally left the court building after police
intervened in the fight.

The court had ordered visitors to use passes when entering the
building, particularly during the trials of Mixil and Aris, which
were sometimes highlighted by protests.

Two months ago, three of the defendants' lawyers were beaten
by police when they insisted on entering the court chief's
room.--JP