PRD activists walk out of district court

PRD activists walk out of district court

JAKARTA (JP): The trial of three Democratic People's Party
(PRD) activists continued in the Central Jakarta District Court
yesterday without them or their lawyers, who had left because the
judges turned up 90 minutes late.

Yakobus Eko Kurniawan and Suroso, two of the activists, walked
out of the court room and back to their cells defying the judges'
insistence that the hearing continue without their lawyers.

The third defendant, Ignatius Pranowo, refused to appear in
court in protest over irregularities in his detention warrant.

Their lawyers, Denny Kailimang and Suhana Natawilwana, had
waited for an hour before deciding to leave the courtroom.

The trial, scheduled for 10:00 a.m., did not begin until
11:30. There was no explanation why the three judges had come
late.

Yakobus, Suroso and Pranowo are being tried on charges of
subversion for allegedly undermining the state and insulting
government officials through their activities in the PRD.

Seven other PRD leaders, including chairman Budiman Sujatmiko,
are being tried separately on similar charges. If found guilty of
subversion, they may face the death penalty.

Judge Asmar Ismail, leading the trial against the three
defendants, decided that the hearing continue regardless.

Prosecutor Abdul Hamid Thahir read in court the written
testimonies of Dita Indah Sari and Coen Husen Pontoh, both PRD
activists who are being tried on separate charges in Surabaya.
The prosecutor said he could not bring the two witnesses to
Jakarta.

On Pranowo's absence, judge Asmar said he would order that the
defendant appear in court at the next hearing "by force if
necessary".

The hearing was adjourned until Wednesday.

Another walkout occurred in a different courtroom in the
courthouse yesterday.

Garda Sembiring of the Indonesian Student Solidarity for
Democracy organization, an affiliate of the PRD, left the
courtroom protesting the judge's decision to allow the prosecutor
to read a written statement by Dita.

The activists were arrested following the July 27 riots in
Central Jakarta which left at least five people dead.

The military has tried to pin the blame for the riots on the
activists but their indictments have contained no such
accusation. The indictments only say that the PRD suspects "were
among the crowd on July 27". (05)