Eurico trial set for Jan. 2

JAKARTA (JP): East Timor militia leader Eurico Guterres will open the new year unlike any other as he faces court proceedings against him on Jan. 2.

He is charged with involvement in the seizure of weapons from an Atambua police station in East Nusa Tenggara in September.

Attorney General's Office spokesman, Muljohardjo, said on Monday that the North Jakarta District Court, the venue for the hearings, had established a panel of judges for the trial.

The court is set to hear testimony from 14 witnesses, including an expert witness.

"The decision was made last Thursday, the same day the North Jakarta Prosecutor's Office filed the dossiers," he told journalists without disclosing the names of the three judges or the public prosecutors.

Eurico, who is currently being detained in Salemba prison, Central Jakarta, is charged with violating Article 160 of the Criminal Code for instigating a crime against the government, and Article 214 for forceful and belligerent action.

He is also charged with Article 55 (1) 2 of Emergency Law No. 12/1951 for illegally possessing weapons.

Eurico allegedly ordered his followers to take back weapons they had handed over to the police on the day Vice President Megawati Soekarnoputri visited the province.(bby)