Two students activists jailed for defying police orders

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The South Jakarta District Court sentenced two student activists to five months in jail each on Wednesday for defying police officers during a demonstration against a fuel price hike in June.

Presiding judge Abdul Madjid Rahim, who read out the verdict, said that Mixilmina Munir, alias Mixil, 25, and Aris Wardoyo, 22, had led a protest against a fuel price hike on June 16 outside Lebak Bulus bus terminal in South Jakarta.

However, the court cleared both defendants of the primary charge of inciting chaos.

The verdict asserted that staging a protest was legal in the country as long as it was done without disturbing the public order.

Mixil, a student at the State Institute of Islamic Studies (IAIN), had stopped some 20 public minivan drivers who happened to be passing in front of the Institute's campus in Ciputat and asked them to transport around 50 students to the bus terminal.

The students, activists of Forkot (City Forum) placed banners reading "Fuel price is up, (other) prices are up, lets fight it", "People are starving" and "What will people eat if all the prices are up", on the front of the vehicles.

Meanwhile, Aris had gathered 100 bajaj (three wheeled motor vehicle) drivers at his home campus, the Computer and Information Technology Institute (STMIK), in the Radio Dalam area, South Jakarta. They joined the protest at Lebak Bulus at about 10 a.m.

Several officers from the South Jakarta District Police, who were monitoring the protesters, tried to disperse the demonstration because it was disrupting traffic.

At that point, Aris told the protesters "don't be afraid of the police" while Mixil threw a stone at the officers, turning the demonstration into a riot.

After the trial, Mixil described the verdict as "manipulative", but stated that he would not appeal as he did not believe in the judiciary, which he regarded as corrupt.

"I won't appeal. The facts show that the district court, like this one, is marked by corruption, not to mention the higher courts," he told reporters.

Mixil and Aris will be freed within 10 days as they have been in detention since June 17. They are currently being held at the Cipinang Penitentiary, East Jakarta.

Prosecutor Lukimanto, who had earlier asked the court to sentence the defendants to seven months in jail each, said he would consider whether or not to appeal.