Court asked to acquit Iranian

Court asked to acquit Iranian

JAKARTA (JP): Defense lawyers has asked the Central Jakarta District Court to acquit an Iranian citizen on trial for heroin possession.

They said in their final statement on Wednesday that their client, who was charged with possessing and trafficking 155 heroin pills, was based on the fact that the prosecutor could not prove the heroin pills belonged to the defendant.

And none of the witnesses could testify as to who was the real owner, they said.

Mehdi Jarari, 28, a Teheran-based businessman, is being charged under the 1976 Narcotics Law. The maximum penalty is death but last week prosecutors demanded a 17-year prison sentence.

The defense lawyers also said that during the interrogation police officers did not use a translator or provide legal aid for Jarari.

"That was a violation of the Criminal Code," they said.

Jarari was supposed to read his own defense statement but he wrote it in Arabic and no one was able to translate it.

It has not been and never will be heard as the judge will announce the verdict next week. (12)