Cleric's suit against S'pore rejected

Cleric's suit against S'pore rejected

JAKARTA: The South Jakarta District Court rejected on Thursday
a Rp 1 trillion libel suit filed by cleric Abu Bakar Ba'asyir
against the Singaporean ambassador over Senior Minister Lee Kuan
Yew's remarks in an embassy press release accusing the plaintiff
of having links to international terrorism.

Presiding judge Zoeber Djajadi said that the court could feel
"the arrogance of the accused" which had irritated the Indonesian
Muslim community.

The accused and his lawyers had ignored a court summons, and
did not attend the trial since the first hearing was held last
month.

However, as Indonesia has ratified the 1961 Vienna Covenant on
diplomatic immunity, Judge Zoeber said, the court could not
accept the suit.

The suit was also rejected due to its obscurity.

After the hearing, the accused's lawyer, M. Mahendradatta,
said they would not appeal, but would file a class action suit
instead.

The hearing was attended by some 600 members of the militant
Front for the Surakarta Islam Defenders and other Muslim groups.
They later staged a rally outside the Singaporean Embassy on Jl.
H.R. Rasuna Said, Kuningan, South Jakarta. -- JP