Four more students accused of defamation released
Four more students accused of defamation released
JAKARTA (JP): Four students convicted of defaming President
Soeharto during a demonstration at the House of Representatives
(DPR) last year, were released yesterday after finishing their
one year jail terms.
Yeni Rosa Damayanti, Teddy Wibisono, Gunardi Aswantoro, and
Wandy Nicodemus T. became free citizens after being detained in
December of last year.
Yeni left the Pondok Bambu correctional institution for women
at 10:40 a.m., while the other three students at about the same
time, walked out from the Salemba Detention Center.
Dressed in a floral-printed blouse and blue jeans, Yeni's
enchanting appearance immediately ignited noisy cheers of welcome
from fellow student activists, relatives and sympathizers waiting
at the gate.
"Long live Yeni, long live students, long live people," the
students shouted.
"I am coming out of a small jail today, but entering an even
bigger jail called Indonesia," Yeni replied to the embrace of her
well-wishers.
Among the hundreds present were Yeni's mother and her only
brother, Frans Hendra Winarta of the Indonesian Legal Aid
Foundation, noted human rights activist H.J.C. Princen and
members of the Pijar Foundation, who were waiting since 8 a.m.
"We came here early to anticipate the possible earlier release
of Yeni," said Agus, of the foundation.
Yeni, saying that she had no regrets about what she did in the
past, also read a "student pledge" before joining her well-
wishers to the Taman Ismail Marzuki art complex to see the other
three students who were awaiting her arrival.
The group then continued the celebration reading statements
from several student activists at the art complex before they
peacefully dispersed at 12:30 p.m..
The four students released yesterday were part of a group of
21 students who were arrested last year when they held a protest
at the House of Representatives (DPR) in which they demanded that
the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) call President Soeharto
to account for government policy.
The 21 students were convicted by the Central Jakarta District
Court in May for insulting President Soeharto during a
demonstration at DPR on Dec. 14. The court then handed all 21
students six month prison terms, which meant they should have
been freed on June 14.
Upheld
On the last day before their expected release, however, the
Jakarta High Court, acting on an appeal from government
prosecutors, upheld the guilty verdict and extended the terms to
between eight months and 14 months.
The court argued that the terms were extended after finding
the students guilty of contempt of court, saying that the
students had used the court hearings for political propaganda.
Ten of the students, who were sentenced to eight months in
prison, were released on Aug. 19 on a Supreme Court order. The
Jakarta chapter of the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (LBH
Jakarta) previously protested the Court and their jail terms,
which should have ended on Aug. 14.
Two other guilty students, Masduki and Hendrik Dikson Sirait,
were released on Oct. 11. They were earlier sentenced to 10
months imprisonment by the Central Jakarta District Court.
Four other students, who had also served 10-month terms, were
only released the following day.
Adi Kurniawan from Darul Ulum University in Jombang, East
Java, is still serving a 14-month term at the Salemba
penitentiary, the last of the original 21 apprehended.(imn)