Spectators stunned by Agus' court appearance

Spectators stunned by Agus' court appearance

JAKARTA (JP): The presence of Army second Lt. Agus Isrok in
the West Jakarta District Court on Monday stunned onlookers, who
clearly did not expect an appearance by the son of an active
four-star Army general.

Reporters present at the court failed to witness the arrival
of Agus, who came to the court to testify in the drug trial of
Donny Hendrian.

Escorted by several men who appeared to be military personnel,
Agus -- a member of the Army's Special Force (Kopassus) -- made
an entrance into the courtroom shortly after his named was called
to testify as a witness.

Those following the trial believed Agus would eventually
answer the court's summons to testify as a witness in the trial,
but they did not expect him to appear any earlier than Monday of
next week.

The belief that Agus would testify was reinforced by recent
remarks by Agus' father, Gen. Subagyo Hadisiswoyo, a former
Kopassus commander, who said he would not interfere in the drug
case in which his son has also been named a suspect.

Trial followers based their assumption on when Agus would
appear on the fact that prosecutor Amirullah insisted on using
Agus' alias, Deky Setiawan, on the summons rather than his given
name.

The court had sent three summonses to Deky's address in
Bandung, West Java. Moreover, Subagyo said his son would testify
only when he had received a summons bearing his given name of
Agus Isrok Mi'raj.

Thus the astonishment at the appearance of Agus at the trial
of Donny, who was arrested with Agus last August in a hotel room
in West Jakarta.

Those in attendance at the courtroom on Monday were taken
aback by the midday appearance of several members of the military
police outside the courthouse.

Despite the unusual presence of the military police personnel,
trial watchers still doubted this presaged a later appearance by
Agus.

But rumors that Agus would appear to testify spread quickly,
and a number of television crews not seen at previous sessions of
Donny's trial soon arrived.

At about 12:45 p.m., dozens of print and broadcast journalists
chased after a black Cherokee jeep, which was being escorted by
two other cars. Agus, it turned out, was not in any of the
vehicles.

The journalists then entered the courtroom, where Zainal
Abidin, the operational manager of the hotel in which Agus and
Donny were arrested, was giving his testimony as a witness in the
case.

Prosecutors and lawyers also appeared to be taken aback by the
unexpected appearance of Agus in the courtroom on Monday. When it
became evident Agus would be testifying, what could be
interpreted as looks of shock seemed to register on the faces of
the lawyers and judges.

But at 1:05 p.m., amid much excitement among those gathered in
the crowded courtroom, the prosecutor called Agus to the witness
stand. Photographers and TV crews rose from their seats and
rushed to the door to get a glimpse of Agus, who was attired in a
white long-sleeve shirt, a black tie and black pants. Agus'
convoy of escorts held the journalists at bay as they led the way
through the courtroom.

As journalists tussled for seats near the front of the room,
the judges ordered them back.

Presiding judge Hadi Lelana then ordered all those in the
courtroom to turn off their cellular phones.

A man who appeared to be a member of the Army, carrying a
small tape recorder, was ordered by Hadi to leave the courtroom
after his cell phone began ringing.

The man, together with a number of other people who also
appeared to be from the military, were attempting to prevent
people from approaching Agus.

Some minutes later, a court official entered and placed
microphones in front of the judges, prosecutors, defenders and
Agus.

"Now you can move back .... You can hear the proceedings
clearly with the help of the microphones," Hadi told the
journalists, who complied and took up places near the rear of the
room.

After the hearing ended at approximately 2:30 p.m.,
journalists struggled to reach Agus, who left the courtroom in
the escort of the same men who saw him into the room over an hour
earlier.

Agus was rushed to a Suzuki minivan and speedily driven away
from the court. (asa)