Police sued for illegal arrest

Police sued for illegal arrest

JAKARTA (JP): A lawsuit filed by six suspects in the April 15
foiled robbery attempt and bomb blast in West Jakarta against
city police chief Maj. Gen. Noegroho Djajoesman was heard by the
South Jakarta District Court on Monday.

The six suspects, represented by lawyer M.H. Sinaga from the
Ampera Legal Aid Institute in Bogor, asked the court to order the
defendant to release their husbands.

"The six men should be released, since police did not show any
warrants during the arrests," Sinaga told the court.

He said the arrest was also conducted without any preliminary
evidence as required by the Criminal Code Procedure.

The men's wives said they were not asking for compensation and
just wanted their husbands to be released as soon as possible.

"If the judges decided to give us compensation, we would be
happy enough," one of the women said.

The six plaintiffs, who are still detained at city police
headquarters, are identified as Edi Rochadi, Taufik, Naiman, Edy
Syaputra, Solehudin and Samsudin.

The men were arrested one day after the blast at their houses
in Warung Menteng village, Cijeruk district, Bogor.

Presiding judge Sutan Mangun adjourned the trial until Tuesday
to hear a response statement from the defendant's lawyer
Burhanudin.

The men are among 21 people arrested by police for their
alleged involvement in the crimes. The detainees claim to be
members of Angkatan Mujahidin Islam Nusantara (AMIN) group. Seven
of the detained suspects hail from Jakarta.

Police have released on bail one of the men, identified as
Ichwan.

The blast rocked the three-story Hayam Wuruk Plaza shopping
center on Jl. Hayam Wuruk, smashing windows of at least four
shops in the complex.

A few minutes later, the robbery occurred at Bank Central
Asia's branch on Jl. Keamanan, West Jakarta, not far from the
blast scene. (jun)