Gang rape trial starts under heavy security
Gang rape trial starts under heavy security
JAKARTA (JP): The trials of 11 men charged with rape and robbery of a mother and her teenage daughters in Bekasi last July opened yesterday under tight security measures.
The men were tried in three separate trials in Bekasi, 30 km southeast of here.
In one of the sessions, Bonen, Mamat and Deddy Setiawan were charged by Prosecutor Baringin Udjung with gang rape and robbery of the women. At another session Matali, Indra Wijayadi Saputra, Aris Haryadi and Jamal were also accused of the same offenses by Prosecutor R. Purba.
While Iwan Rejeki and Muhamad Ali were charged by Oemar Tohir with rape and robbery, their accomplices Taman and Supriatna were charged with robbery and possession of arms.
According to the indictments, the alleged rapists first robbed the family of their jewelry by placing machetes against their necks and then raped them.
The defendants, aged between 17 and 23 years old and mostly unemployed, were arrested in August on charges of having robbed the family and brutally raping the women and her two teenage daughters in a small, isolated village in the Bekasi area.
The gang rape and robbery provoked public anger in the area, and hundreds of well-wishers, including government officials and human rights activists from Jakarta, expressed their sympathy to the family.
To protect the defendants and the defense lawyers from public outrage, the Prosecutor's Office arranged special security measures with the police.
One hundred and twenty security officers, four police dogs and a fire brigade unit were on guard at the trial, which took place at the Civil Servants' Hall.
Every person entering the hall was searched by officers, who held people's ID cards in exchange for a pass.
The officers only let 50 people enter the courtrooms to watch each session, leaving hundreds of others outside.
The defendants were brought into the hall through back doors under heavy guard. Unlike at the two pretrial sessions at the Bekasi courthouse in August where angry mobs attacked the defense lawyers, the public yesterday did not express anger.
The husband and father of the family, Acan, was also present at the trials, moving from one room to another.
Reading the indictments, the prosecutors said that some of the defendants not only raped Acan's wife but also his daughters, while the rest only assaulted one of them.
The trials were adjourned until Thursday next week to give the defense lawyers the opportunity to prepare their redress.(03)
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