Protesting students appeal court ruling

JAKARTA (JP): One hundred and ten students who were pronounced guilty of conducting an illegal rally announced on Wednesday they would appeal the Central Jakarta District Court's ruling.

Each were ordered to pay a Rp 2,250 fine as punishment.

The students, grouped under the Student Action Front for Reform and Democracy (Famred), said they would file an appeal with the Supreme Court.

The defendants, who were arrested on Tuesday near the office of the General Elections Commission on Jl. Cokroaminoto after staging an anti-Golkar Party rally, arrived at the district court at 11 a.m. in four police trucks.

Greeted by at least 200 student supporters, the defendants entered four courtrooms which were respectively presided over by judges M. Simatupang, Ali Akmal, Endang Sumarsih and Asmar Ismail.

After the judges rapped their gavels to open the trial, the students stood up and interrupted the trial to give statements.

"Since we don't recognize the trial, we will leave the courtroom," one of the students said.

Applauded by friends, the defendants then immediately left the courtrooms.

In the absent of the defendants, the judges continued the trial, pronouncing the students guilty of conducting an illegal rally.

They said the defendants violated Law 9/1998 on freedom of speech which obliges protesters to notify the police prior to holding a rally.

Those found guilty of violating the law are liable to punishment based on Article 510 of the Criminal Code, a product of the colonial rulers, which carries a maximum punishment of two weeks in prison or a fine of up to Rp 2,250.

A lawyer for the students from the Indonesian Student Movement Lawyer Team said he regretted that the judges reached a verdict in the absence of the defendants.

"The judges should have examined the defendants and other evidence before deciding on a sentence," the students' lawyer said.

During Tuesday's rally, the students demanded, among other things, that ruling the Golkar Party be barred from the upcoming general election.

Similar incidents of students ignoring judges' decisions or refusing to appear in court have become a trend in the capital's district courts over the past few weeks.

Earlier, a court fined hundreds of students found guilty of conducting illegal rallies between Rp 2,000 and Rp 2,250.

Only a few students paid their fines.

Many of the students appealed the court's decision.

Others refused to pay the fine and declined to state whether they accepted the sentence or would lodge an appeal. Instead they walked out of the courtroom.

Legal practitioners have also asked students on trial to respect the court and obey the law. (jun)