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TWO HEARINGS IN TRIAL OF SABAR IWANGGIN OLIF WERE HELD IN JANUARY 2008 |
According to a report received from the GKI (Protestant Church) in Papua,
two hearings in the trial of Iwanggin Sabar Olif SH were held in January.
He is facing charges in connection with alleged terror SMS messages he sent
to five friends and to his brother.
The hearing on 14 January heard a demurrer presented by the legal team of
the accused. The demurrer states that the testimony from the witness, Ruby
Z Alamsyah of Telkomsel (Telecommunications), did not comply with legal
requirements because it made no distinction between the five SMS messages.
The charge sheet used the word 'deliberate' and said that the action took
place 'in public'. Counsel for the accused said that Sabar had only sent
the messages to persons he knew and did not do this in a public place.
According to the law, testimony that is uncertain because it is
susceptible to change is unacceptable in a court of law. Moreover, it is
strange that the prosecutor in his charge sheet linked the sending of the
SMS messages with the tragic events which occurred in the districts of
Yahukimo and Boven Digul whereas in fact the accused never sent any SMS
messages to Yahukomo or Boven Digul
The demurrer of the legal counsel of the accused also drew attention to
other anomalies in the charge sheet:
Firstly, the action of which the accused is charged is in the nature of a
special crime because the arrest involved a joint team from the anti-terror
Special Detachment 88 and the Criminal Investigation Bureau (Bareskrim) of
the Police Force, whereas it is clear that the interrogation report (BAP)
and the charge sheet stipulates what is regarded as an ordinary crime,
namely the crime of incitement as stipulated in Article 160 of the Criminal
Code.
Secondly, nothing is said about the transfer of the accused to police
headquarters (in Jakarta) on 26 October 2007 for interrogation. The crime
for which the accused stands charged occurred in Papua, or more
specifically in Jayapura, which means that the interrogation should have
taken place in Jayapura.
Thirdly, during the interrogation process, the accused was accused of
inciting Papuans to resist and to defame the good name of the President of
Indonesia, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono as stipulated in article 160 related to
article 134 of the Criminal Code, which should be supported by a charge
made to the police by the person in question, namely the president of
Indonesia, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, to the police force of Indonesia.
The legal counsel therefore requests the Panel of Judges to release the
accused, Sabar Iwanggin, from prison and restore his reputation and lift
all the charges against the accused.
At the hearing on 21 January 2008, in his statement titled 'Response to the
demurrer of the counsel of the accused, the prosecutor stated that the
evidence regarding the five SMS numbers mentioned is adequate evidence for
the trial to continue. The prosecutor also stated that the accused,
Iwanggin Sabar Olif should not have circulated the SMS messages but should
have prevented their circulation by reported the matter to the police.
KPKC Synode of the GKI in the Land of Papua
[This report makes it clear that the trial is still in the early stages
which follow the submission of the charges by the prosecution. Assuming
that the judges will reject counsel's request for the trial to be
abandoned, the subsequent hearings will be devoted to hearing testimony
from the witnesses, the summing up by the two sides and then the
pronouncement of the verdict by the panel of judges. This report does not
state where the trial is being held, in Jayapura or in Jakarta. TAPOL]
TAPOL, the Indonesia Human Rights Campaign
111 Northwood Road, Thornton Heath, Croydon CR7 8HW, UK.
tel +44 (0)20 8771 2904 fax +44 (0)20 8653 0322
tapol@gn.apc.org http://tapol.gn.apc.org
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