Trisakti defense team meets with defendants

Trisakti defense team meets with defendants

JAKARTA (JP): The defense team in the Trisakti court-martial
met with the two police officers on trial at Jakarta Military
Police Headquarters in Guntur, South Jakarta.

"This meeting is very important because we are responsible to
give advice, support and guide the defendants. It is their right
to be protected, and it is our job to do so," the leader of the
defense team, Adnan Buyung Nasution, said.

After a one-and-a-half-hour briefing at city police
headquarters, the defense lawyers headed to Guntur for their
meeting with the two defendants at about 11 p.m.

The lawyers -- Otto Hasibuan, Denny Kailimang, Hotman Paris
Hutapea, Rudhy A. Lontoh and Hotma Sitompul -- were greeted by
Jakarta Military Police Commander Col. Hendardji.

Buyung said the meeting touched on significant testimony from
the two police officers -- company commander First Lt. Agus Tri
Heryanto, 29, and platoon leader Second Lt. Pariyo, 38, both from
Jakarta Police Mobile Brigade -- about their whereabouts and what
occurred during the incident.

"We don't have much time to consult with the two defendants.
We have to be ready for Monday's trial session. Hopefully we can
reveal the truth," Buyung added.

Buyung stood by earlier statements that the trial was being
engineered.

"Why do I say this? Because the prosecutors' indictment letter
stated that the two officers were responsible for their
undisciplined conduct which led to the deaths of four Trisakti
students.

"The fact is we haven't even found the real shooters here. We
don't know for sure whether the shooters are among the two
officers' subordinates. What if the shooters are not members of
their squads?" Buyung explained.

Today's hearing is scheduled to cross-examine 10 witnesses,
with West Jakarta Police chief Lt. Col. Timur Pradopo being the
first witness to appear.

"I'm fine. I just pray to God to give me the strength to go
on," Timur told The Jakarta Post at city police headquarters.

Before the meeting in Guntur, one of the two defendants, Agus
Tri Heryanto, got a chance to speak to the media to talk about
his feelings concerning the case.

"I was shocked when I was named as one of the suspects. I was
only armed with a shield (when the incident took place) but they
said that my actions caused the death of four people. That's
absurd.

"I did the best I could in my duties. My hope is that I can
walk a free man," said the father of a five-day-old baby boy
named Fierlian Rifqi Heriyanto.

He revealed that when the incident took place, only 18 of the
98 officers under his command were armed with SS-1 weapons. "And
they had only three blank bullets and 12 rubber bullets."

Agus said he had not yet been able to meet his wife, Ary
Susiani, since she had their baby. "My boy is currently in
Bandung. I miss them ... but what can I do?"

Pariyo, the other defendant, talked about how he felt with his
lawyers, saying he was ready to face the trial and its
consequences, but could not hide the depressed look on his face.

"They feed me three times a day. I'm OK. I accept this as
God's will," he whispered.

The two defendants admitted that investigators did not use
violence during questioning and that they were able to
communicate with the other suspects in detention.

Investigation

Hendardji said that the 21 weapons -- SS-1s and Steyr AUG-Ps
-- submitted to the National Police Forensic Laboratory were
currently undergoing ballistic tests.

"The worst possibility is that none of the weapons match with
the live bullet taken from Heri Hartanto's body (one of the four
dead students). We will know that within a week.

"If that's so, it means that I have to order all squads
involved in the incident to submit their weapons, and run
ballistic tests on the more than 100 guns used there," Hendardji
said, adding that the investigation was currently leading to the
main suspect of the fatal shootings.

When asked about the fact that all the suspects in the
Trisakti case were police officers and that it appeared
discriminatory since military personnel were at the scene, he
said that the investigation was fair.

"I have investigated all commanders in the field from all
squads. There were eight companies involved: four companies from
the police, namely the Mobile Brigade and City Police, and the
other four from the army, namely the Jakarta Military Command and
Army Strategic Reserves Command.

"But none of the army members were involved since they stayed
in their position. It was the police who conducted the shootings
and they went ahead toward Trisakti area," he said.

Therefore, the investigation is focused on the police, he told
the Post, adding that there was an army squad, the City Infantry
Regiment, which came to the Trisakti area. "But it was between
noon and 1 p.m. on May 12, way before the clash broke out."

Some 32 students have been questioned to gain more information
about the incident. "But so far only one will be present as a
witness," Hendardji said. (edt)