Protesting students walk out of trial
Protesting students walk out of trial
JAKARTA (JP): Preceded by their lawyers, all of the 47
students on trial at the Central Jakarta District Court charged
with holding an illegal rally walked out of the courtroom on
Friday before the judges could read their verdicts.
The defendants, from the Perbanas economic and banking
institute, made the decision after the judges rejected their
lawyers' request to postpone the trial.
The students, arrested on Thursday in front of the central
Bank Indonesia main office on Jl. Budi Kemuliaan, Central
Jakarta, were tried in two courtrooms, presided over by judges
Paiman Martoredjo and Hupoyo.
Accompanied by eight lawyers from the Jakarta Legal Aid
Institute, the students arrived at the court at 11 a.m. in two
police trucks and entered the courtrooms already packed with
their colleagues.
In one room, lawyer Surya Tjandra asked judge Paiman to
postpone the trial until Tuesday, arguing that the students were
exhausted after spending a night in police detention.
"Besides that, we also want to present our witnesses.
Therefore, we request your honor to delay the trial. If this is
not allowed, we will walk out of this room," Surya told the
judge.
Paiman responded to the court that the lawyer's demand could
not be met and the trial would continue. He explained that the
case was categorized as a fast trial, which should be decided
within one day, as stipulated in Article 207 (a) of the Criminal
Code Procedure.
"You can walk out if you want," he told Surya and his three
fellow lawyers in the courtroom.
Without giving further argument, the lawyers left the
courtroom, followed by the students.
Paiman appeared upset by the incident, saying that the
students and their lawyers had no respect for the court.
"The lawyers could leave the room, but I did not allow the
defendants to leave the room. I had not even decided the verdict
yet. They did not respect the court," he told those remaining in
the room.
A similar scene occurred in the other courtroom.
The judges agreed to continue the trial without the defendants
or their lawyers. The court then heard testimony from police
officers.
Both judges fined all 47 students Rp 2,000 (US 25 cents) each,
which could be substituted with three days in prison.
While the judges continued the trial, the students were seen
sitting in the court compound. They were unable to leave the area
as the gate was locked and guarded by dozens of police officers.
One of the students, Herman, regretted the judges' decision
not to postpone the trial.
"We did not conduct a rally. We were about to meet officials
from the central bank, and we had already obtained the bank's
approval to hold a dialog on the bank's recapitalization and
liquidation plans," he said.
He said they were arrested at 1:30 p.m., a few minutes before
they were to enter the bank's compound.
"We had been informed that the bank's officials were ready to
receive us," he said.
According to lawyer Surya, the Criminal Code Procedure
permitted the judges to postpone the trial for up to a week.
"How could we give respect to the judges, if they run the
trial without even considering our demands. They just follow the
police instructions," he said.
Another lawyer, Daniel Panjaitan, said his clients were
considering to appeal the judges' decision at the Supreme Court.
The students left the court compound at 3 p.m. in a bus, after
their lawyers met with the judges and Central Jakarta Police
Chief Lt. Col. Iman Haryatna. (jun)