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)