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)