Soeharto vs 'Time' put off to Oct. 14 amid no-shows

JAKARTA (JP): Central Jakarta District Court adjourned on Thursday a legal battle between former president Soeharto and New York-based Time magazine until Oct. 14, after all seven defendants failed to appear at the opening session of the trial.

"The court will ask all defendants to attend the next trial session, slated for Oct. 14," presiding Judge Sihol Sitompul, chief of the Central Jakarta District Court, said at the trial.

Sihol said the court sent summonses to all defendants, including the five foreign-based defendants, in July. The letters were sent through the Directorate-General of Consular Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

All Soeharto's lawyers -- Juan Felix Tampubolon, Mohammad Assegaf, Denny Kailimang and O.C. Kaligis -- were present, while Time magazine was represented by Todung Mulya Lubis at the trial on Thursday.

Soeharto lodged a US$27 billion civil lawsuit against the magazine at the Central Jakarta District Court in July, in response to a cover story published in the magazine's May 24 Asian edition alleging that Soeharto and his family had amassed a $15 billion fortune during his 32-year reign.

The lawsuit named Time Inc. Asia, based in Hong Kong, as the first defendant. Also named were Time Asia's editor-in-chief Donald Morrison, Hong Kong bureau chief John Colmey, and reporters David Liebhold, Lisa Rose Weaver, Zamira Lubis and Jason Tedjasukmana.

All of the seven defendants were absent from Thursday's trial. A court clerk confirmed that it was difficult for the court to summon the offshore defendants.

Todung confirmed that Zamira and Jason, who are both Jakarta residents, have formally hired him to represent the two in the trials.

He told reporters after the trial that the five offshore defendants had yet to receive the summonses.

"Our clients have to first receive the court's summonses before they will formally authorize me to represent them in the trials," said Todung.

Lawyer for Soeharto Juan Felix Tampubolon separately said after the trial that the defendants had purposely delayed the trial of the case.

"It has been two months since the court sent the summonses, but they are still absent. It's a slander to Indonesian law," he told reporters.

Juan said he would ask the judges to continue the trial even in the absence of the defendants.

"We'll ask the judges to continue the trial without the defendants' presence, if they still fail to attend the next trial session," he said.

Juan also criticized Todung for issuing statements to the media, which he considered interfering with the trial process.

"He issued statements in the name of Time magazine, while he has not been formally hired to represent the magazine and the defendants. We'll file a lawsuit against him if he continues issuing statements," he said.

Todung played down the accusation, saying that he was the magazine's legal attorney in Indonesia.

"I have the right to talk to media representing Time magazine because I'm its lawyer here," Todung said.

"What are their (Soeharto's lawyers) interests? Even the court did not prohibit me from talking to the media." (asa)