Lawyers request Bintang's release
JAKARTA (JP): Lawyers representing rebel politician Sri Bintang Pamungkas demanded their client's release yesterday, citing insufficient legal grounds for the Attorney General's Office to continue detaining him.
The lawyers said that when they accompanied Bintang during his questioning last week, they thought the interrogating prosecutors had failed to come up with "sufficient initial evidence" to justify Bintang's arrest.
The lawyers stated their demand in a letter addressed to Attorney General Singgih yesterday.
Bintang, the chairman of the unrecognized Indonesian Democratic Union Party (PUDI), together with party deputy chairman Julius Usman and secretary-general Saleh Abdullah were arrested March 5 for subversion.
The authorities said the three were arrested because of the party's activities, including its call for a boycott of the May 29 general election and the establishment of a new constitution. The election boycott call was contained in Idul Fitri greetings cards sent out to hundreds of people.
On March 17, the activists refused to answer any more questions until their demands for clarification, including on who reported them, had been met.
Singgih ignored Bintang's tight-lipped stance, saying it was his right to maintain silence but that the office would continue with the legal process.
The Attorney General's Office has also summoned several public figures, including other PUDI activists, for questioning.
Yesterday the Attorney General's Office summoned Ridwan Saidi, the secretary-general of the unrecognized Indonesian's People Council (MARI), and Mulyana W. Kusumah, the secretary of the national board of the Indonesian Legal Aid and Human Rights Association.
Ridwan met the summons but Mulyana did not show up because he was out of town.
Suhartoyo, the spokesman for the Attorney General's Office, declined to specify on what capacity Ridwan and Mulyana were summoned.
Ridwan also refused to reveal the content of the questioning, saying to do so would be unethical. He only said that PUDI was once a group within MARI. (05)