Eurico to file pretrial suit against police
Eurico to file pretrial suit against police
JAKARTA (JP): Prointegration East Timor militia leader Eurico
Guterres plans to file suit against the National Police for
arresting him on Wednesday morning without following legal
procedures, his lawyer Suhardi Somomoeljono said on Thursday.
According to Suhardi, the police failed to show a warrant when
they arrested Eurico in a hotel room in Central Jakarta, adding
that a warrant was only presented by the police later in the
evening.
"It's also strange that the police didn't arrest Eurico
immediately after they claimed he had committed the crime," the
lawyer told reporters after seeing his client, who is being
detained at National Police Headquarters.
The police have accused Eurico of ordering his militiamen to
repossess their firearms after a ceremony in which they
surrendered them to the police in Atambua, East Nusa Tenggara, on
Sept. 24.
The ceremony was attended by Vice President Megawati
Soekarnoputri, who was on a visit to the region.
According to Suhardi, the police accusation is baseless. He
quoted his client as saying that none of the people who initiated
the action were his followers.
The mob, the lawyer said, became angry when the police refused
to do a symbolic handover of the guns to the police with Megawati
looking on and subsequently took back several guns.
"Eurico, who was officially invited by the police to the
ceremony, was inside the police headquarters when the incident
happened. It was impossible for him to have ordered the
repossession," Suhardi said.
National Police spokesman Brig. Gen. Saleh Saaf said on
Wednesday that at least 15 firearms, consisting of standard
military rifles and homemade weapons, had been stolen from the
police headquarters upon Eurico's instructions.
National Police chief Gen. Surojo Bimantoro said Eurico would
be charged under Article 160 of the Criminal Code for instigating
a crime. The article carries a maximum sentence of six years
imprisonment.
Separately on Thursday, deputy head of National Police
criminal investigation Brig. Gen. Ansyaad Mbai said that the
police had followed legal procedures in arresting Eurico.
"The arrest was backed up with preliminary evidence and the
police personnel had an arrest warrant in their possession when
they arrested him," Ansyaad said during a news conference at city
police headquarters.
"Maybe Eurico's lawyer just did not see it," Ansyaad said.
Saleh said that Eurico was expected to appear on Friday for
questioning at the Attorney General's Office as a suspect in
human rights abuses in East Timor last year. (jaw)