Defense lawyers seek release of defendants in Binjai incident
Defense lawyers seek release of defendants in Binjai incident
Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Medan
Defense lawyers of 19 former Army personnel, on trial for their
role in a bloody clash with police in Binjai, North Sumatra, in
late September, urged military judges to acquit the defendants on
the grounds that the charges against them were inconsistent.
In a court hearing called for the lawyers to make a final
defense, Maj. Mujianto stated that military prosecutors had
charged the defendants with general crimes as stipulated in the
Criminal Code.
"But in their sentence demand, the prosecutors have used the
Military Criminal Code as they have demanded that the defendants
be discharged from military service," said Mujianto, one of the
defense lawyers.
A total of 19 former members of the now-defunct 100th Airborne
unit in Binjai, some 25 kilometers west of Medan, North Sumatra,
are currently on trial at the Bukit Barisan Military Command
Headquarters in Medan for attacking a police station in Langkat
and the Mobile Brigade headquarters in Binjai on Sept. 29 and 30,
in which 12 people were killed, including three civilians.
Almost immediately after the attacks, Army chief Ryamizard
Ryacudu froze the Airborne unit.
Last Thursday, military prosecutors reiterated their demand
for a total of 47 years, 10 months in jail for the 19 defendants.
Military prosecutors Maj. Heru, Maj. Hendy and Captain
Bahabuddin Siregar said last week that the trial had proven
beyond reasonable doubt that the defendants had either
collectively or individually used firearms that claimed a number
of innocent lives.
The prosecutors have sought jail terms of 10 months to three-
and-a-half years and discharge from military service for the 19
defendants.
But according to Mujianto, the defendants could not be
discharged from military service as they had been charged under
the country's Criminal Code rather than the Military Criminal
Code.
"The Criminal Code does not sanction discharge from military
service, whereas the Military Criminal Code does," Mujianto said.
He also stressed that military prosecutors had no authority to
demand additional punishment for the defendants as that right lay
in the hands of the judges.
Another defense lawyer, Maj. B. Zebua, said that the military
prosecutors should have charged the defendants with military
crimes, not general crimes.
The court was adjourned until Dec. 19, at which time the
judges are scheduled to issue their verdict.