Govt pushes for 13 year sentence in Marsinah's trial

Govt pushes for 13 year sentence in Marsinah's trial

JAKARTA (JP): Government prosecutors are urging the court to
convict three men whom they accused of murdering labor activist
Marsinah last year and sentence them to 13 years imprisonment.

The prosecutors told the Surabaya District Court on Thursday
that Bambang Wuryantoro, Widayat and Achmad Sutiono Prayogi took
part in the conspiracy to murder Marsinah and helped carry out
the execution.

The three are among nine defendants who have been brought to
trial in connection with the murder of Marsinah in May of last
year.

All three are staff of the PT Citra Putra Surya, the
watchmaking company where Marsinah worked. Bambang is an
employee, Widayat is a driver and Achmad is a security guard.

The other suspects are also from the company, including Yudi
Susanto, its owner.

The lone woman defendant, Mutiari, has already been convicted
to seven months in jail after the court found her guilty of being
an accomplice to the murder. She is appealing against the
decision.

Two domestic helpers working for Yudi identified the three men
as the ones who brought Marsinah to the house in May last year.
They also testified that Marsinah was tied, bound, gagged, and
left to starve for three days before she was murdered.

All the nine suspects maintain their innocence and alleged
that their incriminating admissions to their military
interrogators were made after they were severely tortured.

Each one has since retracted their statements in court.

The prosecutors' case is built upon their claim that Yudi
convened a meeting on May 5 that involved all the nine suspects
during which the plan to murder Marsinah was discussed.

They said that they kidnapped her two days later, murdered
her, and dumped her body on May 9.

Marsinah's badly mutilated body was found on May 9 in Nganjuk,
a city near Sidoardjo. She had led a workers' strike at the
watchmaking factory only a few days earlier.

All the nine suspects have denied the existence of the May 5
meeting.

The prosecutors urged the judges to ignore the defendants'
claim that they were tortured by their interrogators, stressing
that they were resorting to anything to avoid a guilty
verdict.

They urged the court to stick to the statements the suspects
gave to their interrogators.

The Marsinah trials have attracted a large audience, and most
of them cast their support with the public prosecutors.

Thursday was no exception. The gallery cheered when the
prosecutors spelled out their demands -- 13 year jail terms,
each.

In stark contrast, the three defendants looked like they were
fighting against the whole world but they tried to maintain their
composure.

Outside the court, however, they have found sympathetic ears
with the National Commission of Human Rights. Early this month
the Commission said it found evidence that the Marsinah
defendants had been tortured and denied some of the their basic
human rights.

The commission's report also said that it found evidence that
there could be other parties involved in the murder which have
escaped the attention of investigators. (prs)