S. Jakarta Court rejects Zarina's lawsuit on technical grounds
JAKARTA (JP): A South Jakarta District Court judge cited a legal technicality in dismissing on Friday the lawsuit filed by alleged drug trafficker Zarina Mirafsur against the city police.
"You have no competency to represent the plaintiff Zarina in the court hearings," judge Maulida told the woman's lawyers in a pre-trial hearing.
"You have yet to receive an authorization letter from the plaintiff to represent her in the court proceedings."
She said the lawyers only received a letter from the plaintiff authorizing them to assist her and provide legal counsel, but not to represent her in court.
Maulida said the lawyers should have asked the plaintiff to issue the authorization letter prior to Friday's hearing.
"The lawsuit was filed in Zarina's name. She's supposed to attend the hearing," she said in reading the decision.
One of Zarina's lawyers, Ali Mazi, defended the decision not to ask her to sign a full authorization to represent her in court hearings in her absence.
"The Tangerang Women's Prison had said it would let Zarina attend the hearing, but this morning the city police suddenly ordered both the Tangerang Police and the prison to cancel the plan," Ali told the judge.
"We strongly believed that Zarina could attend the hearing after the judge sent a letter to the Tangerang Women's Prison asking the prison administration to let her attend today's hearing," he said after the hearing.
"But the city police prevented her from attending the hearing."
Ali said he and several Tangerang Police officers were in the prison compound on Friday waiting for the permit for Zarina's temporary release.
"But First. Sgt. Sukirno received a phone call from the city police, requesting the cancellation of the plan," said Ali.
Denial
Chief of the city police detectives Col. Alex Bambang Riatmodjo denied he ordered the Tangerang Police not to escort Zarina to the hearing. "I don't know anything about the matter," he said after the hearing as he got into his car.
Ali said the lawyers would file a new lawsuit on Monday in the court against the city police for the unlawful arrest of Zarina.
Zarina filed suit last week, demanding the court rule that her recent arrest was unlawful.
"The court has yet to annul the substance of lawsuit, but the court only annulled the way we handled the lawsuit," Ali said.
The proceedings on Friday contradicted the events on Thursday, when Maulida ordered the city police's lawyers to renew their authorization letter because it was only signed by Alex.
The letter should have been signed by the city police chief, she said.
The city police's lawyers -- Capt. Barnabas Iman Setiyono and First Lt. Ashanul Muqaffi -- submitted a revised letter at Friday's hearing.
Zarina, together with nine other suspects, was arrested in an early morning police raid of five apartments in a hotel in West Jakarta early this month.
The former actress was sent back to the prison on Wednesday evening after Minister of Law and Legislation Yusril Ihza Mahendra revoked her conditional release status from her conviction in 1996 for storing nearly 30,000 ecstasy pills. She was granted a conditional release last year for good behavior. (asa/41)