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)