Student testifies against friends
Student testifies against friends
JAKARTA (JP): A member of the student regiment from the National University told Judge Moegihardjo of South Jakarta District Court that he saw one of the six defendants being tried throwing bottles filled with gasoline into the regiment's headquarters.
"I saw the defendant Yahdi Djamhur and his two friends, Tori and Rivai throw some stones and bottles, which were filled with gasoline, into the regiment's headquarters," said Irvan Alfarija, who has been a regiment member since 1989.
The six defendants are Yahdi Djamhur, Reza Pahlevi, Darmawan Bahtiar, Rakai Aria Dipa Erlangga, Benedictus Satrio Widyanarto and Budi Murdiyanto.
They are among 12 students -- all members of the Association of Nature Lovers (Himpala) accused of intentionally assaulting four members of the university's student regiment and of burning the regiment's headquarters on Oct. 18.
The alleged attack came after regiment members reportedly destroyed the association's secretariat on Oct. 14, last year.
The judge then asked Irvan if he was sure that the bottles were filled with gasoline and the witness said he was sure.
Irvan said he went to campus at about 11 a.m. and at about 12 p.m. he heard an explosion at the regiment's headquarters.
"I went to the office of the deputy rector for academic affairs to report the fire. Then I saw many Himpala members banging on the office door as they tried to force their way into the room," he said.
Irvan then told the judge that the Himpala members forced Bambang Permadi, the university's Deputy Rector for Academic Affairs, out of the room while the rest, including Yahdi and Darmawan started beating him with wooden sticks.
Irvan's testimony prompted Makdir Ismail, a lawyer from the Jakarta Legal Aid Foundation representing the six defendants, to ask the judge to arrest the witness for giving false evidence.
Lawyer Makdir quoted Bambang Permadi, from an earlier trial session, as saying that the defendant, Syech Al Djufri, came to him, asking him to calm down more than one hundred students who had gathered in the university compound protesting the existence of the regiment.
"The deputy rector never said that he was forced out of his own room and I request the Honorable Judge to arrest the witness for violating his oath to tell the court the truth," Makdir said.
However, the judge said that the decision to arrest or not arrest was his authority. "I will discuss your plea with the members of board of judges first," he said.
After Judge Moegihardjo finished examining Irvan he asked the six defendants their opinion of Irvan's testimony and they all told the judge that they objected to it.
"Your Honor, his testimony is nothing but slander. We strongly object to it," Yahdi said.
During the session, the public spectators heckled Irvan when he told the judge that he was the regiment's security chief, authorized to take care of and anticipate all kinds of scenes which could hamper the campus's security.
However, when the defendants' lawyer asked him if he knew that some regiment members had destroyed the secretariat of Himpala several days before the Oct. 18 incident, he said that he knew nothing about the incident.
Again, his statement made the public heckle him. One man made sound of a chicken.
Judge Moegihardjo then adjourned the session for 30 minutes for the afternoon prayer. The proceedings continued with examination Sandy Refdinal Ronazi, an alumnus of the Social and Political Science School of the National University who is also a regiment member.
Before the session re-opened, defendant Reza Pahlevi told the judge that the security officers had prohibited the defendants from leaving their cells to perform their afternoon prayers, so they were forced to perform them in the dirty cell.
"You will have a decent place to pray during the next sessions," Moegihardjo said.
During the session, Sandy said that he came to campus at 11 a.m., to pay the graduation ceremony fee.
"I was hanging out behind the security guard post with my friends Irsal Karmani and Wasis when Himpala members attacked us," he said. (mas)