Judge approves force to summon YLBHI chief

JAKARTA (JP): The Central Jakarta Court sanctioned the use of force yesterday to bring Bambang Widjojanto, the chairman of the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI), to court to testify in a subversion trial.

Judge Sjoffinan Sumantri told government prosecutor M. Salim, to make sure Bambang appeared in court on Monday.

"Bring him here, send security officers if you have to," the judge said angrily after being told that Bambang had ignored the prosecutor's summons to appear in court for the third time yesterday.

Judge Sjoffinan said he could not recall an instance where force had been used to bring a witness to court.

Prosecutor Salim said his officers had gone to an address in Jakarta where Bambang was believed to live only to learn that it was his mother's house. They also tried to meet Bambang at the YLBHI office to present him with the summons but to no avail.

"Bambang was at his office but he refused to meet the officers. His secretary said he was busy," Salim said.

Bambang has repeatedly rejected the prosecutor's summons to testify in the trial of Budiman Sujatmiko, the chairman of the Democratic People's Party (PRD).

Budiman is charged with undermining the state and insulting government officials. He is being tried under the 1963 Subversion Law which carries a maximum penalty of death.

Bambang sent a letter to the court explaining his absence.

In it he said there was a possible conflict of interests given the fact he had been representing Budiman in the trial and that testifying would break the lawyer-client privileged relationship.

But when the judge asked Budiman whether he had appointed Bambang to act as his attorney, the defendant said no.

Budiman, according to court records, appointed lawyers grouped in the Team of Lawyers to Defend Indonesia's Justice, which was formed to defend Budiman and other activists on trial. Bambang is not in the team although many of his YLBHI colleagues are.

Bambang said in the letter that the involvement of many YLBHI lawyers in defending Budiman gave him, as a member of the foundation's board of directors, a lawyer-client privileged relationship.

Bambang's testimony is being sought because the prosecution believes the YLBHI office was used by activists, including those from the PRD, to hold meetings.

The trial proceeded yesterday with the evidence of Dwi Satianing Sunu, a worker at a shoe factory in Tangerang, West Java, where a workers demonstration took place on June 18 and June 19, 1996.

Dwi told the court that he could not recall ever seeing Budiman among the crowd.

The trial was adjourned until Monday. (05)