Court to continue Manuputty's trial

JAKARTA: The North Jakarta District Court ruled on Monday to continue the trial of Maluku Communication Forum figures Alex Manuputty and Wailairumy Sammuel, who are facing subversion charges.

The decision followed the judges' dismissal of an objection raised by the defendants, who said the trial was unlawful and baseless.

Prosecutor Herman Koedoeboen charged both Alex and Samuel with violating the Criminal Code by conspiring and promoting a secessionist movement by urging people to hoist the flag of the South Maluku Republic (RMS) on March 25 of this year.

RMS was a rebel group crushed by the government in the late 1950s, but some of its supporters live in the Netherlands.

The judges postponed the trial until Sept. 23 to hear the witnesses' testimony. -- Antara