Prosecutors ignore defense request in Trisakti hearing

Prosecutors ignore defense request in Trisakti hearing

JAKARTA (JP): The second session of the court-martial of two
police officers involved in the Trisakti shooting incident ended
in tension yesterday after prosecutors ignored a defense request
to respond to the prosecutor's statement.

The hearing began at 9 a.m. sharp with the prosecutors
response to the call made by the defense team during the first
hearing on Saturday for all charges to be dropped because it was
known that the defendants did not kill the students and were
being used to shield those responsible.

For the prosecution, Col. Sardji Purwono and Capt. Bambang Ari
Wibowo said the suggestion was absurd.

"The defense plea is an attempt by their lawyers to discredit
the prosecution. It is not true that we engineered this trial,"
Sardji said.

"What is more important is that we serve justice in the
military high court. It is not true that we want to mislead the
public, fuel student outrage or use innocent officers as
scapegoats," he told the court.

The significant differences found by lawyers in the indictment
read out by prosecutors and the copies later distributed to
defense lawyers during Saturday's session were merely "wording
mistakes", Sardji added.

In the version of their case which prosecutors read out to the
court they said that "the police used tear gas and flame-throwers
to disperse the crowd," however, in the version distributed to
defense lawyers flame-throwers had been changed to water cannons.

After the prosecutor's statement, presiding judge Col. Sudji
Suradi adjourned the trial of company commander First Lt. Agus
Tri Heryanto, 29, and platoon leader Second Lt. Pariyo, 38, both
from Jakarta Police mobile brigade unit until Friday at 9 a.m.

The judges ignored a request by defense lawyers, led by Adnan
Buyung Nasution, to reply to the prosecutor's statement.

Sudji said: "You cannot reply now. You must wait until the
next appeal session after Friday's hearing."

Law No. 31/1997 Article 145 on military high courts states
that the judge can adjourn the trial after both lawyers and
prosecutors have stated their case, he said.

"The defense team stated its position on Saturday. Now the
military prosecutor has responded. It is now therefore time for
the judges to adjourn the hearing," Sudji said.

Adnan voiced his disappointment at the decision.

"What can we do if the court will not give us a chance to
argue our case. This is against the universal law," Adnan told
the court to cheers from the public gallery.

After the trial, Adnan told reporters that the trial was
unfair.

"This court is in ruin! This trial is no longer objective or
fair. It has been engineered."

He also condemned the intimidation and threats which he has
received since taking the case.

"My family and I have been put under pressure. We have been
threatened over the phone. Even Adi Andojo (dean of the Trisakti
University faculty of law) accused me of being a traitor. But I
tell you this. I'll never give up. Never."

"This case is not only about setting the defendants free. It
is about creating a better justice of system here. It's time for
us to ditch our rotten system."

Head of the Armed Forces Law Department/General Prosecutor
Maj. Gen. Andi M. Ghalib denied the lawyers claims at a media
conference later yesterday.

"You have to remember that the officers are charged under
Article 103, not Article 338 (for murder). We are putting field
commanders on trial for their failure to control the situation,
not for shooting the students.

Adnan rejected Andi's argument and questioned why only the
mobile brigade had put their men or trial, not any of the other
three units on duty at the demonstration that day.

Four students were killed and many more injured when security
forces opened fire on demonstrators at Trisakti University in
Grogol, West Jakarta, on May 12. The incident sparked massive
riots and a political chain reaction which eventually lead to the
demise of president Soeharto.

The two officers have been charged with indiscipline under
Article 103 of the Military Penal Court. They face a maximum
sentence of two years and four months in prison. There are a
total of 18 suspects in the case.

In a related development, Jakarta Military Police Commander
Col. Hendardji told The Jakarta Post yesterday said that the
suspects' superior officers had refused to submit the 21 weapons
allegedly used in the shooting to his office.

"We have to match the bullet taken recently from one of the
victim's bodies with the gun that fired it," he said.

Hendardji strongly believed that "at least one of the suspects
fired on the students." (edt)