Prison terms demanded for 18 accused in campus attack

Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Medan, North Sumatra

A team of military prosecutors demanded on Tuesday prison terms for 18 police personnel accused of involvement in an armed attack on Medan's HKBP Nomensen University four years ago, which claimed the lives of two students.

Opening the trial, a prosecutor from the Bukit Barisan Regional Military Command said defendant Chief. Brig. Sudaryono was manifestly guilty of fatally shooting Ricardo Silitonga.

The victim was shot at a distance of 30 meters by the accused, who was using a Colt revolver, while he was standing in the compound of Nomensen University.

For the offense, the prosecutor demanded a 30-month prison sentence for the accused and also demanded that the accused be discharged from the police force.

In the same trial, the prosecutor also demanded a minimum sentence of four months in prison for Adj. Comr. Amiruddin Pasaribu, First Insp. M. Edi Fariadi and First Insp. Yayat for their respective roles in the attack. The prosecutor demanded five months in jail for defendant First Insp. Dedi Kurnia Supriadi.

The prosecutor also sought six months in prison for seven police personnel, namely Chief Brig. Hidayat Hasibuan, Chief Brig. Armansyah Harahap, Chief Brig. Ferdinand Bukit, Brig. Zul Efendi, First Brig. Alexander Putra, First Brig. Husnul Yazi and Chief Brig. Rusdiyanto Sembiring.

The prosecutor demanded a seven-month prison term for Chief Brig. Yunardi. For the remaining four police personnel, namely Chief Brig. Kennedi Rumapea, First Brig. Ismail Siringo-Ringo, Second Brig. Refti Rama Siswandi and Second Brig. Zulhendri, the prosecutor demanded eight months each.

In the trial, the prosecutor accused the defendants of using violence against the students, in violation of Article 170 of the Criminal Code.

However, in the trial held at the Bukit Barisan Military Command headquarters, the prosecutors failed to mention the person responsible for the fatal shooting of another victim, Calvin Nababan. The prosecutor only explained that Calvin died of a gunshot wound that penetrated his neck and severed an artery.

Chief of the military prosecutors Lt. Col. Purnomo said prosecutors had difficulty in pinpointing the police officer guilty of shooting Calvin because it was hard for the prosecutors to find the evidence.

"The bullet that penetrated Ricardo's body was found, but the situation was different in Calvin's case. In his case, the bullet that penetrated his body could not be found, so we couldn't trace the perpetrator," Purnomo told The Jakarta Post after the hearing.

The attack on the university campus occurred on May 1, 2000. It began after students at the university descended on the North Sumatra Police headquarters demanding that their colleague, Panel Pakpahan, who was allegedly arrested for gambling, be freed. The protest turned violent and several students were arrested.

The students, however, resisted arrest and took two policemen, First Brig. Ngalu Surbakti and First Brig. Suherman hostage. The two were brought back to the Nomensen University campus.

The hostage-taking certainly sparked anger among the fellow police personnel. Two platoons were immediately deployed to the university in a bid to release the two policemen.

Police attacked the university, which met stiff resistance from the students.

In the incident, two students were killed, three were injured and several windows of the university were shattered. At about 3:30 p.m., the two police hostages were freed.

Presiding judge Col. Reflinar Nurman said that the trial would resume on Jan. 27 to hear the defense statement from the lawyers of the police personnel.