Trial of Bintang adjourned due to lawyers' absence
Trial of Bintang adjourned due to lawyers' absence
JAKARTA (JP): The Central Jakarta District Court failed to arraign yesterday controversial politician Sri Bintang Pamungkas, who is facing charges of insulting President Soeharto, because his lawyers failed to show up.
Bintang appeared in court as scheduled yesterday only to inform the panel of judges that all five lawyers appointed to represent him had gone to Yogyakarta to attend the Indonesian Bar Association congress which began yesterday.
The five lawyers are Adnan Buyung Nasution, Soekardjo Adidjojo, Mohammad Assegaf, Luhut M.P. Pangaribuan and Dwiyanto Prihartono.
Chief prosecutor P. Sitinjak urged the court to proceed with the hearing and criticized the lawyers for failing to attend. "The lawyers are not serious in handling this case," he commented.
Syoffinan Sumantri, the presiding judge, eventually agreed to adjourn the hearing until next Wednesday.
Bintang, a former member of the House of Representatives, was to have been formally charged for slandering President Soeharto in a lecture attended by Indonesian students in Germany last April. If found guilty, he could be jailed for six years.
The trial is one of three court battles the vocal politician is fighting against the government.
He filed the other two at the Jakarta State Administrative Court. In one suit, he is asking the court to order the government to lift an overseas travel ban and in another, he asked the court to declare the presidential decree removing him from the House as illegal. Both suits are still being processed.
Bintang, an elected House member for the United Development Party (PPP), lost his seat last May after President Soeharto endorsed a move initiated by his party's leaders.
Unlike other defendants tried for allegedly insulting the President, Bintang has not been arrested.
Bintang has denied denigrating the head of state.
His supporters, some wearing the traditional yellow jacket of the University of Indonesia, demonstrated at yesterday's brief court session.
Bintang is still registered as a staff lecturer at the prestigious university.
The 30 students say Bintang's trial is an official clamp down on freedom of expression.
"Say black if it's black, and white if it is really white," a banner, unfurled outside the court room, read.
An engineering student, identified by his colleagues as Riza, was detained by police officers after they found he was carrying a small Swiss Army knife.
He was taken to the Central Jakarta District Police department in a police jeep, accompanied by a fellow demonstrator.
A number of students tried to block the jeep from leaving the court compound. Arief Suhaeni, who appeared to have mobilized his colleagues to form a blockade, was also taken into custody.
City police spokesman Lt. Col. Iman Haryatna later confirmed that three high school students and one university student were brought in for questioning in connection with the disturbance outside the court.
"They were later released," Iman said. (imn/bsr)