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)