Students tried for illegal rally

JAKARTA: Government critics turned up at the Central Jakarta District Court in a show of support for three student activists who went on trial Monday for holding an illegal rally in January.

Prosecutor M. Manik told the court that defendants Rico Marbun, Fathul Nugroho and Ardi Purnawan Sani had violated Law No. 9/1998 on freedom of expression as they failed to inform the police before holding the rally near the official residence of President Megawati Soekarnoputri on Jl. Teuku Umar, Central Jakarta.

The prosecutor also said the defendants had resisted orders by the police to disperse.

The minor crime carries a sentence of four months and two weeks in jail.

Government critics Rizal Ramli and Fuad Bawazier -- both former cabinet ministers -- and chairman of the Indonesian Democratic Union Party (PUDI) Sri Bintang Pamungkas joined some 100 students from the University of Indonesia (UI) in boosting the defendants' morale.

Rico chairs the UI Student Executive Body (BEM), a student group which has often held rallies against Megawati.

Last year, two activists were convicted for stepping on the photographs of President Megawati and Vice President Hamzah Haz during a rally in Jakarta. A student activist in Aceh was also convicted for painting an "X" on the photographs of the two leaders early this year. -- JP