Heckling, demonstrating continue in student trial
Heckling, demonstrating continue in student trial
JAKARTA (JP): Heckling and demonstrating continued at the trials yesterday of 12 National University students charged with assault and brawling.
Judge Moegihardjo of South Jakarta District Court opened the first session at 10:45 a.m. by letting prosecutor H.P. Silitonga counter the statements of Luhut Pangaribuan, one of the lawyers from the Jakarta Legal Aid Foundation, who represents six of the 12 students being tried for assault in two separate trials.
The six defendants are Benedictus Satrio Widyanarto, Yahdi Jamhur, Rakai Aria Dipa Erlangga, Darmawan, Budi Murdiyanto and Reza Pahlevi.
Prosecutor Silitonga told the judge that Luhut's earlier statement that the indictment was legally inadequate because the defendants were not accompanied by their lawyers during police questioning had no legal basis.
"Your Honor, the police had asked the defendants during the questioning session whether they need their lawyers present," the prosecutor said. He did not say whether the students waived their right to have a lawyer present.
In the previous trial, Luhut said that prosecutor Silitonga's indictment should be legally annulled because it was not based on the Criminal Procedure Code.
The prosecutor asked the judge to ignore the accusation since his indictment contained all factors demanded by the code.
The six defendants are among 12 students -- all members of the Association of Nature Lovers -- who are accused of intentionally assaulting four members of the university's student regiment and of burning the regiment's headquarters on Oct. 18 last year.
The alleged attack came after regiment members reportedly destroyed the association's secretariat.
Shortly after Judge Moegihardjo ended the first session, the six defendants grabbed their lawyers' mike and made a speech condemning the existence of the student regiment.
The defendants, who wore black T-shirts with anti-student regiment illustrations, shouted, "We want justice" and "Ban the student regiment from campus."
Their screams were applauded by observers of the court proceedings who resorted to heckling during the session. The wardens immediately took the defendants to their cells, while around 20 mobile brigade officers stayed on the alert for any further demonstration of displeasure at the court proceedings.
In yesterday's trial sessions Judge Moegihardjo ordered all court observers who did not have a seat to wait outside the courtroom. His decision did little to prevent the remaining observers from heckling him during the court proceedings.
In the session of the trial for the other six students, prosecutor Hasan Madani countered two teams of defense lawyers.
The first team consisted of lawyers from the Indonesian Advocate Association (AAI), who represented Agus Heryana Anirun and Wahyu Sugito. The second was from the Jakarta Legal Aid Foundation who represented Syech Al Djufri Abu Bakar, Kusnadi Darisan, Sudrajat Trisna and Indra Mulia Ismet Kamil.
Prosecutor Hasan told the judge that he disagreed with the request of the lawyers from the advocates association, who asked the judge to postpone the trial until after the court finished examining the members of the student regiment because it was the regiment members who started the attack.
"I could not accept such a statement because the arraignment of a party is not dependent on other people's guilt," Hasan said.
Hasan tried to assure the lawyers that the dossiers of the regiment members are already at the South Jakarta Prosecutors Office and they are also to be tried.
Hasan then said that he regretted the maneuvers of the lawyers from the Jakarta Legal Aid Foundation who stated that the arrest of the defendants was illegal.
"The illegality of an arrest should not be used as a factor to declare that an indictment is legally inadequate because such a matter should be brought into the pretrial examination," Hasan said.
Emotional arguments between Moegihardjo and the defendants occurred in the second session when the judge refused to allow one of them to express his stance.
The judge adjourned the trial session until Feb. 7.
Shortly after Moegihardjo ended the court session, hundreds of the students' supporters also held a demonstration condemning the existence of the student regiment on their campus.
The existence of student regiments at various universities has been questioned, following reports of brawls involving regiment members on several campuses. (mas)