Indictment in gang rape case not valid: Lawyers
Indictment in gang rape case not valid: Lawyers
JAKARTA (JP): Defense lawyers in the gang rape and robbery
case, which took place in a village near Bekasi in July, told the
local district court yesterday that the defendants were victims
of mistaken identity and thus their indictments are unacceptable.
The lawyers told three hearings that the police had arrested
the wrong people after investigating the case.
The district court of Bekasi regency, located 30 km southeast
of Jakarta, yesterday heard the statements by 15 defense lawyers
for the 11 defendants, charged of the gang rape of Acan's wife
and his two daughters.
They were also accused of robbing the family's jewelry and of
possession of arms.
Petrus Bala Pattyona, one of the lawyers, told the court that
the names of some of the defendants mentioned in last week's
indictment by the prosecutors are not identical to those now
standing trial here.
"This means that the indictment is invalid," he said. Citing
examples, he said defendant Mamat according to the indictment was
born on April 4, 1972 when his true birth date was Feb. 4, 1972.
He also said that Deddy Setiawan, another defendant, has never
had an alias such as 'Badut' as mentioned in the indictment.
"Therefore we ask the panel of judges to declare the
convictions invalid according to the law," Petrus said.
The lawyers reminded the court that in August they tried to
sue the police for illegally arresting the suspects but they had
to cancel the plan due to the authorities' refusal to protect
their personal safety.
Role
The lawyers said the indictment also failed to specify the
role of each defendant and the interconnection between them.
Aidi Johan, another defense lawyer, said that there is no
clear explanation in the indictment on how the defendants
committed the crime as stipulated in the paragraph of the
criminal code applicable to their case.
"It is not clear who raped the victims and who their
accomplices were," Johan said. He added the indictment also
failed to clarify how the rape and robbery were committed.
According to the indictment, Johan said, the crimes were
committed separately.
The lawyers also said that the indictment did not mention
clearly the shape, color and how the defendants used material
evidence such as the knife, and the rope in the crime.
They told the court that they were convinced that none of the
defendants was involved in the crime and most importantly that
each of them has an alibi.
Chief lawyer Petrus Bala said that it is not possible for the
defendants to have robbed two families at the same time as stated
in the police dossiers, on which the indictment is based.
Petrus said that dossier, a copy of which was made available
to them by the police office, mentioned that the 11 suspects also
robbed Rusni's family at the same time they were raping and
robbing Acan's family, who lives one hour on foot away.
The judges decided to adjourn the trial until next Thursday to
provide an opportunity to the prosecutors to prepare their
response to the lawyers' statement. (03)