Lawyers ask for case against seven soldiers to be dropped

Ainur R. Sophiaan, The Jakarta Post, Surabaya

Lawyers for seven soldiers accused of killing Papuan separatist leader Theys Hiyo Eluay claimed on Friday that the case against their clients was legally flawed and demanded that the judges throw it out of court.

"We find a lot of the material evidence obscure. We even see this trial contains some personal interests with the presence of more than one military prosecutor," chief lawyer Hotma Sitompul told the military tribunal in Surabaya, East Java.

"We ask the judge to declare that the case is legally flawed or to drop the case," he added.

The seven defendants, all members of the Army's Special Forces (Kopassus), are accused of murdering Theys, the leader of the separatist Papua Presidium Council (PDP), on Nov. 10, 2001, in the provincial capital of Jayapura.

Hotma, who read out the lawyers' defense plea at the hearing, also said the prosecutors failed to lay out the charges accurately, and had disadvantaged the defendants.

"Theys was found dead in the middle seat (of his car), but they said he was strangled in the front seat," he said. "How could he move, or was there another perpetrator?" added Hotma.

He said the military prosecutors could not explain how Theys moved from the front seat while he was weak to the middle seat and died. "These charges are contradictory."

Hotma said there was a possibility that another suspect outside the group of seven defendants was involved in moving Theys from the front seat to the back.

"This case has different legal consequences," he said.

The soldiers charged in the high-profile murder case are Jayapura's Tribuana Kopassus task force chief Lt. Col. Hartomo, Capt. Leonardo, First Sgt. Asrial, Chief Pvt. Achmad Zulfahmi, Maj. Donny Hutabarat, First Lt. Agus Suprianto and First Sgt. Lorensius.

The seven defendants are being tried in two separate hearings. If found guilty, they face up to 15 years in prison.

Theys was found dead in his Kijang van one day after he attended a dinner party in celebration of National Heroes' Day on Nov. 10, 2001, in Jayapura.

The military function was hosted by the local unit of Kopassus, which is widely accused of human rights abuses across the country.

The driver of Theys, who led a peaceful campaign for an independence referendum in the resource-rich province, is still missing.

Chief military prosecutor Col. Haryanto dismissed the lawyers' defense plea, saying that the lawyers did not understand the substance of the charges.

He asked the panel of judges, led by Col. E.M. Yamini, to consider throwing the case out of court.

The trial, which opened last week, was adjourned for seven days to hear the prosecutors' formal response.

Friday's hearing, which was tightly guarded by security forces, saw a lower turnout compared to last week's trial. It was packed mostly by family members and other relatives of the defendants.

The trial is the latest in a series involving security forces, who have long been accused of human rights abuses in several troubled provinces, including Papua and Aceh.