Hearing canceled in student no-show

Hearing canceled in student no-show

JAKARTA (JP): A pretrial hearing in a wrongful arrest suit
filed by an Indonesian Christian University student against the
Jakarta Police was postponed on Wednesday due to the absence of
plaintiff, who remains in police custody.

Presiding judge Sultan Mangun adjourned the session at the
South Jakarta District Court until Thursday and ordered the city
police to bring plaintiff Rudi Pahala Simatupang Siburian to
court.

"We will again request that the police bring the plaintiff
here on Thursday to proceed in the lawsuit," Sultan said.

Dozens of members of student group City Forum staged a
demonstration in the court compound, demanding the release of
Rudi and fellow UKI student Edward Taurus B. Karo-karo.

Edward has filed a similar lawsuit. His pretrial hearing is
scheduled on Friday.

The men are demanding compensation of more than Rp 1 billion
(US$133,333) each for material and nonmaterial losses.

Sultan opened the trial at about 10 a.m. but the plaintiff's
attorneys, calling themselves the Student Movement Advocating
Team, refused to enter the courtroom because of Rudi's absence.

Hotma Timbul Hutapea, one of the lawyers, said the legal team
represented the student in filing the lawsuit but not in the
court room.

Hotma said the student should read the lawsuit himself under
legal procedures, necessitating his court appearance.

"It seems the police are trying to make the pretrial
procedures difficult," he said. (jun)