Policeman faces 15 years in jail

Policeman faces 15 years in jail

Nani Farida, The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh, Aceh

A policeman here has been threatened with 15 years imprisonment
for the alleged fatal shooting of a student in the troubled
province of Aceh.

Second Brig. Aspardi bin Rusli, 35, is being charged with
killing Muhammad Iqbal, a 20-year-old student of Syah Kuala
University, in the provincial capital of Banda Aceh on July 18,
2002.

The trial for Aspardi commenced Saturday at the Banda Aceh
District Court with judges checking the identity of the defendant
and the administrative requirements of his lawyers.

It was the first criminal case to be tried at a civilian court
in Aceh involving a suspect from the police force since Law No.
2/2002 came into effect last year.

Previously, police officers accused of crimes went on trial at
military tribunals, as the police were part of the Indonesian
military apparatus.

Aspardi is charged with violating Article 338 of the Criminal
Code, which carries a maximum punishment of 15 years in jail.

The police officer, who has been detained since July 18, 2002,
at Aceh Police headquarters, looked healthy when he appeared at
the first hearing accompanied by his four lawyers.

Prosecutors Efdal Effendi, Kamaruzzaman and Muhibuddin charged
the defendant with the death of Iqbal at 12:30 a.m. on July 18,
2002. Aspardi was not on duty at the time of the incident, they
added.

The suspect shot the student dead after his Honda CB 100
motorcycle brushed up against the officer's Honda GL Pro.

Aspardi fell over on his motorcycle from the accident, and
Iqbal ran from the scene.

The officer then got up and chased after the student, firing
shots into the air to stop the fleeing student. As Iqbal
continued to run, Aspardi shot him in the head. The victim died
minutes after he was rushed to the hospital.

The trial, presided over by Syafaruddin Nasution, was
adjourned until next Saturday for the defense plea from Aspardi's
lawyers.

Security forces have been accused of human rights abuses in
Aceh and other troubled provinces, such as Papua, since former
strongman Soeharto ruled the country repressively for 32 years
until 1998.

Some 10,000 people have died in long-standing separatist
conflicts between troops and members of the rebel Free Aceh
Movement (GAM), which has been fighting for an independent
Islamic state in Aceh since 1976.

A peace deal was signed on Dec. 9 between the government and
the rebels, but sporadic violence still occurs in the resource-
rich province.