Student regiment members attach court observers
Student regiment members attach court observers
JAKARTA (JP): Members of the National University's student regiment commandeered a Kopaja mini bus and beat up a student yesterday, according to a student representative.
The incident occurred yesterday afternoon, after Judge Moegihardjo adjourned the trial of 12 National University (NU) students -- all members if the Association of Nature Lovers (Himpala) -- who are accused of attacking members of the university's student regiment and burning down the regiment's headquarters on Oct. 18 last year.
In a statement signed "Advocacy Team, Great Family of the National University, Rangga Sachroni said claimed yesterday that regiment members attacked students who had been observing the court proceedings while they were waiting for a bus.
He said that a group of regiment members had stopped a bus and, after ordering all the passengers to alight, ordered the driver to take them to Jl. Arteri in South Jakarta. On arrival at the Ragunan Police Housing Complex, the regiment members chased and beat a group of about 10 students who had earlier observed the court proceedings from the public gallery.
One of the victims of the attack, Anthony, suffered a broken nose, the statement claimed.
After beating Anthony the student regiment members then took off in the hijacked bus.
Meanwhile, parents of the 12 defendants expressed concern yesterday over an incident on Feb. 21 in which, they said, regiment members had intimidated their sons.
Badar Balfas, the father of defendant Reza Pahlevi, told The Jakarta Post yesterday that a group of regiment members had threatened his son and the other defendants on Tuesday morning. He said the regiment members had assembled outside the defendants' cells and shouted that they would abduct the defendants' families.
"Knowing that my son and his friends had been threatened by regiment members I reprimanded one of them, named Karim. I told him that his threats were pointless and would only make matters worse," Badar said.
Presiding judge Moegihardjo examined four witnesses yesterday, all of them members of the university's student regiment. The six defendants yesterday are Syech Aljufri, Agus Heryana Anirun, Wahyu Sugito, Kusnadi Darisan, Sudradjat Trisna and Indra Mulia Ismet Kamil. One witness, Irvan Alfariza, received extra attention from the judge.
Irvan told the court that on Oct. 18 last year he arrived at the campus at 11:00 a.m. and at about 12:00 he heard an explosion coming from the parking lot.
He then went to check the location of the explosion and he found that the explosive sound had come from the regiment's headquarters.
Irvan said he saw defendant Yahdi Djamhur and his two other friends, Tori and Rivai, throw stones and bottles which were filled with gasoline into the regiment's headquarters.
Irvan told the judge that some Himpala members forced Bambang Permadi, the university's Deputy Rector for Academic Affairs, to go out of a room while other Himpala members, including Syech Al Djufri and Indra Mulia, started to beat him with wooden sticks.
"Before they entered the room I saw Syech break a glass window," he said.
Irvan also said he did not know why the Himpala members had attacked him.
"I have never had any problems with them," he said.
Irvan's statements were contradicted by four of the six defendants.
Syech Al Djufri said that Irvan's statements were untrue.
"Your Honor, I never broke the deputy rector's glass window nor did I beat him with a wooden stick," Syech said. (mas)