Defendants' no-show adjourns cout hearing

JAKARTA (JP): A judge at the Central Jakarta District Court delayed the opening session of an assault trial when two of the five defendants failed to appear on Wednesday.

The judge said the presence of all five of the defendants was required for the opening session, explaining why he had postponed the trial until next week.

"The court needs all of the defendants to be present in the courtroom since we (judges) will ask them during the opening session whether they understand the prosecutor's indictment," presiding judge Djafni Djamal said.

He said the presence of the defendants was necessary in order to avoid any confusion on the part of the defendants regarding the indictment.

Djafni said the two defendants failed to appear because officers from the Central Jakarta Prosecutor's Office neglected to pick them up for transfer to the court. He said the officers only picked up the other three defendants, who are being held at the Salemba Detention Center in Central Jakarta.

"Officers from the Central Jakarta Prosecutor's Office were careless in their duties and did not pick up the two defendants -- M. Yacob and Fodi Sapta Soekarno -- who are being detained at Pondok Bambu Penitentiary in East Jakarta," the judge said.

Djafni adjourned the hearing until next week, at which time prosecutor Timbul Pasaribu will read the indictment against the defendants.

In the indictment, copies of which were made available to the press on Wednesday, the five defendants -- Mujiono, Agus Yahwa, Sugiman Yacob and Fodi Sapta -- are charged with assault under Article 170, Paragraph 1 of the Criminal Code. The article carries a maximum sentence of five years and six months in prison.

According to the indictment, the five defendants attempted to enter the compound of the People's Consultative Assembly building in Central Jakarta to stage a protest during the Assembly's General Session on Oct. 15 last year.

Scores of civilian guards blocked the defendants from entering the compound. In response, the defendants threw stones at the civilian guards, severely injuring several of them. The injured were identified as Mulyono, Wahyudi, Priharso Nugroho, Heru Riswan, Iwan Setiawan and Entong Rahardjo. (asa)