Lawyer in subversion case upset by legal conduct

JAKARTA (JP): Lawyer Trimoelja D. Soerjadi was up in arms yesterday because the prosecutors office neglected to inform him that the dossiers on his three clients, up on subversion charges, had been presented to the Surabaya district court for prosecution.

Although the law does not require that the defense be informed, Trimoelja said, the prosecutors should have had the courtesy to inform him.

"Given the magnitude of the case the prosecutors office should have told the defense," he told The Jakarta Post.

Trimoelja is defending youth activists Dita Indah Sari, 22, Coen Husein Pontoh, 26, and M. Soleh, 21, who are charged with subversion.

They have been identified by the prosecution as the instigators of a mass workers demonstration in Margomulyo, West Surabaya, on July 7.

Trimoelja yesterday also complained that the charges against his clients had slowly been inflated.

Ignoring the fact that the defendants have been locked up since early July, the charges have been expanded so that they are now linked with the July 27 riots in Jakarta, he said.

"This is outrageous. Before July 27, all three were already under arrest," argued Trimoelja, a well-known recipient of the Yap Thiam Hien human rights award.

The head of East Java's prosecution office, M.A. Rachman, said the case against the three accused had been divided into two dossiers.

Dita's and Husein's case is under one file and prosecuted by Septinus Hematang, while Soleh has a separate file with Ida Komang prosecuting.

Rachman said 35 witnesses had been questioned in connection with the case, including Budiman Sudjatmiko, the leader of the outlawed Democratic People's Party (PRD) and alleged instigator of the July 27 riots in Jakarta.

Other evidence includes documents from organizations to which the defendants belonged.

"We also have the posters used to incite the workers," Rachman said.

Despite the prosecution evidence, Rachman claims the principle of "innocent until proven guilty will be upheld in the proceedings."

He called on the public to trust the courts to handle the matter. He said he hoped no one would exploit court proceedings for political gain.

"It will be up to the court to decide whether the defendants are really guilty or not, we can't play guessing games," Rachman said. (25/mds)