Triple murder trial to start under tight police security
JAKARTA (JP): Security will be tight at the at Central Jakarta District Court today as Harnoko Dewantoro, 32, goes on trial on three counts of murder.
The opening of the long-awaited trial of the sole suspect in the Los Angeles killings, who is also known as Oki, is expected to draw a great deal of public attention.
"A number of police personnel have been assigned to secure the trial to make sure that everything will be okay," City Police spokesman Lt. Col. Iman Haryatna told The Jakarta Post.
The police first handed over the dossiers on the case to prosecutors in November. The documents reached the court last week from the Jakarta Provincial Prosecutors' Office.
The case which dominated media coverage last year involves some of the most complex ever legal procedures because Indonesia and the United States do not have an extradition treaty.
Oki, who ran a small business in Los Angeles, is now serving a two-year prison term for passport forgery.
He is now charged with the murder of his natural brother Eri Tri Harto Darmawan, 26, his female friend Gina Sutan Anwar, 28, and his Indian business colleague Suresh Michandani, 45, on separate occasions in 1991 and 1992.
According to standard procedures, the first trial session will hear the reading of the indictment by the prosecutors.
It remains unknown whether relatives of the victims will attend the trial.
"We have no idea whether we should come to see the trial tomorrow," a relative of Gina told the Post by phone yesterday.
The trial is expected to be lengthy.
Bodies
The decomposing bodies of the three people were discovered in a storage locker by police officers in Los Angeles, California, in December 1994. They had been placed there four months previously.
Following the discovery and a thorough investigation, the Los Angeles police named Oki as the main suspect and issued a warrant for his arrest.
Based on the tips, the Jakarta police arrested Oki in Central Jakarta in January 1995.
According to the trial schedule, a total of 16 people from the United States, including Los Angeles detectives, will be presented as witnesses, together with 14 local people.
The trial will also present 10 expert witnesses from America and another one from Jakarta.
It is still unclear which party will pay for the tickets and the accommodation for the foreigners. Sources said that some of the expenses will be paid by the Jakarta police.
The team of prosecutors for the trial will be headed by J. Kamaru, who will be assisted by M.Jamin, Widyo Pramono and M. Yusuf.
The trial will also present a large body of evidence, including guns, bullets and photos of the decomposed bodies. Some of the evidence has been provided by the Los Angeles police force and some was collected by Jakarta officers in the United States. (bsr)