Defense calls for dropping of abduction charges

Defense calls for dropping of abduction charges

JAKARTA (JP): Defense lawyers on Thursday called for the case
against 11 Army Special Forces (Kopassus) soldiers accused of
abducting activists to be dropped as prosecutors had failed to
properly define the charges brought against them.

Col. Rettob Abdullah, who heads the defense team, told the
court-martial that charges against the 11 soldiers -- one major,
seven captains and three sergeants -- were invalid and vague as
the prosecution had failed to define the terms "kidnapping" and
"deprivation of freedom".

"In presentation of the charges, prosecutors totally failed to
define which of them they were bringing," he told the Jakarta
Military Court in Klender, East Jakarta.

"Moreover the acts of kidnapping and deprivation of freedom
were used interchangeably. So the charges became inaccurate,
unclear and incomplete, thus vague."

Under the Criminal Code, the two charges carry different
penalties.

Article 328 of the Criminal Code stipulates that kidnapping
carries a maximum penalty of 12 years imprisonment while Article
333 on deprivation of freedom carries a maximum penalty of eight
years.

Abdullah also said the trials of seven of the defendants
should be held in South Sumatra province, and not in Jakarta
because the charges involved kidnappings that took place in
Sumatra.

He was referring to the abduction of Andi Arief, chairman of
the Student Solidarity for Democracy (SMID), an offshoot of the
Democratic People's Party (PRD), by the defendants in Lampung in
March.

In the first session last month the prosecution had argued
that the defendants had acted independently of their commanders
in the abductions.

Military prosecutor Harom Wijaya said Maj. Bambang Kristiono,
who headed the operational command codenamed "Rose", had acted
according to the dictates of his own conscience in order to
safeguard the national interest when ordering the kidnapping of
"radical" individuals.

Rights groups have lashed at the court martial saying it is a
"farce" staged to protect top officers while scapegoating the 11
defendants.

"The whole trial is staged and designed to minimize the damage
done to ABRI and it seems that it will lead to a miscarriage of
justice," Marzuki Darusman of the National Commission on Human
Rights (Komnas HAM) has said.

At the time of the kidnappings between February and March, the
Special Forces were under the command of Lt. Gen. Prabowo
Subianto, son-in-law of former president Soeharto.

The Armed Forces (ABRI) honorarily discharged Prabowo and
released two other senior Special Forces officers, Maj. Gen.
Muchdi Purwopranjono and Col. Chairawan, from active duty in
August.

ABRI Commander Gen. Wiranto maintains that Prabowo, who is now
reportedly in Jordan, could face a court-martial if sufficient
evidence emerged from the ongoing trial to implicate him in the
kidnappings.

The Special Forces are believed to have been involved in the
kidnapping and torture of at least 23 activists since April last
year. But the charges only relate to nine activists who when
released told of torture and detention.

One other activist has been found dead and 13 are still
missing.

Presiding Judge Col. Susanto made no comment after the defense
presented its statement. He then adjourned the tribunal until
Jan. 5.

One of the defendants, Capt. Jaka Budi Utama, did not attend
the court on Thursday due to ill health, Abdullah said. (byg)