Bambang Muryanto, Yogyakarta – The families of the four men, who were murdered by members of the Army's Special Forces (Kopassus) at Cebongan Penitentiary in Sleman, Yogyakarta, are doubtful that the legal proceedings at the Yogyakarta II-11 Military Court will be conducted fairly.
They called for the case to be heard at a civil court outside Yogyakarta. "We do not expect much from this trial, which is far from independent," spokesperson for the families, Victor Manbait, said on Thursday.
Victor's brother Yohanes Juan Manbait (Juan), a fired Yogyakarta police officer, was one of the four detainees who were killed in the execution style shooting. The other three detainees were Hendrik Angel Sahetapi (Deki), Gameliel Yermianto Rohi Riwu (Adi) and Adrianus Candra Galaja (Dedi).
Victor said supporters of the deceased has been terrorized by Kopassus supporters.
In total 12 members of Kopassus Group 2 Kandang Menjangan, Kartosuro, Central Java, are on trial for allegedly killing the four detainees.
The military prosecutors charged nine of them with premeditated murder, which carries either the death penalty, lifetime imprisonment or a minimum of 20 years' in prison. The other three were charged with not informing their superiors about the nine Kopassus absconding.
Responding to the charges, the defendants' team of lawyers presented objections and asked the panel of judges to drop the case. They said the charges were blurred and lacked details.
However, not everyone agreed with the defense team, with many calling on the judges, in the next sessions scheduled for Friday, to announce the trials will continue.
"We agree with the military prosecutors that the judges [should] continue the case," said Sumiardi, spokesperson of the Military Court Monitoring People's Coalition.
The same call was also expressed by Indonesia Court Monitoring (ICM) coordinator Tri Wahyu KH. "The panel of judges must prioritize fairness and not focus on formalistic debates," he said.
He said if the panel of judges decided to drop the case, ICM would urge the prosecutors to appeal through the same military court, saying that Article 146 (1) of the Law on Military Court guaranteed such a move.
A member of the Witness and Victims Protection Institute (LPSK), Teguh Sudarsono, warned that if the trial was not fair, civilians could bring the case to the international human rights court.