Ten to face trials over role in July riots
JAKARTA (JP): Chairman of the unrecognized Democratic People's Party (PRD) Budiman Sudjatmiko and nine other people will soon be tried for allegedly masterminding the violent riots on July 27 here.
The state prosecutors yesterday filed six dossiers on Budiman and his friends, accused of subversion, to two separate district courts. Subversion is a crime punishable by death.
Three of the dossiers were on Muchtar Pakpahan, chairman of the unrecognized Indonesian Prosperous Labor Union, and on PRD activists Petrus Haryanto and Ken Budha Kusumandaru. They will be tried at the South Jakarta district court.
Another dossier was on Budiman. The remaining dossiers were on Jakobus Eko, Ign. Putut Ariantoko and Suroso, and on Garda Sembiring, an activist of the Indonesian Students Solidarity for Democracy. They will be tried at the Central Jakarta district court.
All the ten suspects are being held at the detention center of the Jakarta prosecutors office.
"We need ten to fifteen days to set up the panels of judges to try the cases, and to study the dossiers," I.G.K. Sukarata, the head of the Central Jakarta district court, said shortly after receiving the dossiers.
Central Jakarta prosecutors office head Basrief Arief said some 60 witnesses will testify against the accused.
Basrief said Budiman Sudjatmiko and his friends were charged under Article 1 (1) of the 1963 Anti-Subversion Law.
The PRD activists will be defended by lawyers grouped in the Defense Team of the Indonesian Law and Justice led by lawyer Luhut M.P. Pangaribuan.
However, Luhut said yesterday he had not been informed that the case had been submitted to the courts yesterday and called on the prosecutors to respect the principles governing Indonesia's judiciary.
"Don't sacrifice those principles for the sake of a speedy trial," he told The Jakarta Post.
The defense team comprises about 50 lawyers from several legal aid institutes in Jakarta and from the Indonesian Bar Association.
A mob of thousands went on the rampage, burning and looting buildings, cars, and other public facilities on July 27, beginning mid-day and lasting far into the night.
The violence erupted following the forced takeover of the disputed headquarters of the Indonesian Democratic Party from the supporters of deposed chief Megawati Soekarnoputri, by followers of her rival Soerjadi.
The National Commission on Human Rights has confirmed the deaths of at least five people during the incident. Over 100 were injured and 23 others are still missing. The government has yet to follow up on the findings of the commission, despite an earlier promise to do so.
Only hours after the unrest died down, the government accused PRD activists of masterminding the violence and slapped subversion charges on them.
Yesterday, Pakpahan's lawyer M. Luthfie Hakim was quoted by Reuters as saying he expected to receive a copy of the dossier on his client this week and to soon be notified of the trial date. (08)