Lawyer in subversion case upset by legal conduct

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)