Slamet Susanto and Bambang Muryanto, Yogyakarta – The Yogyakarta District Court on Monday sent four defendants involved in an attack against an Army's Special Forces (Kopassus) member, First Sgt. Sriyono, to prison.
Sriyono was a member of the intelligence division at the 0734/Yogyakarta Military District Command (Kodim).
The attack on March 20 was carried out by Marcelius Bhigu, alias Marcel, 37, Zainal Arifin Karabi, 22, Januarius Ponis Putra, alias Ian, 25, and Sulhan Makmun, 23.
The attack was one of the reasons that incited anger among a number of Kopassus members. They raided the Cebongan penitentiary in Sleman, Yogyakarta, and shot four suspects in the murder of another Kopassus operative, Heru Santoso, at Hugo's Cafe in Yogyakarta.
The suspects were being detained after being transferred by the Yogyakarta Police.
Marcel and Zainal were sentenced to four years, while Ian and Sulhan were sentenced to three years. The sentences were lighter than the six-year jail terms demanded by prosecutors for all defendants.
"The defendants have been proven guilty, beyond reasonable doubt, to have assaulted and caused serious injuries to the victim," said presiding judge Susanto Isnu Wahyudi.
One of the defendants' lawyers Paulinus Peter said his clients were not guilty of carrying out the attack and caused severe injuries to another person, such as indicted in Article 170 of the Criminal Code.
"This indicates that our arguments against the primary charge was accepted by the judges hence the lighter verdicts," said Paulinus. "We will consider the sentence. We still have seven days, but could likely file an appeal."
Separately, the People's Coalition for Military Court Monitoring (KRPM) deemed the trial process at the II-11/Yogyakarta Military Court, which involved 12 Kopassus operatives in the shooting and killing of the four detainees was not serious and at risk of failing to uphold justice.
"The military judges and prosecutors, as well as legal advisors, are not digging for substantial facts. This is the most serious form of violence," Yogyakarta Legal Aid Institute (LBH) director Samsudin Nurseha told a press conference at the Indonesian Islamic University (UII) in Yogyakarta on Monday.
KPRM, a coalition of several non governmental organizations (NGOs), such as Yogyakarta LBH and Pusham UII, recorded at least 18 violations since the trial commenced on June 20, which was divided into four dossiers.
Military prosecutors will read out the sentence demand on Wednesday. The defendants are indicted with multiple charges, including premeditated murder and military disciplinary violation. They face either the death sentence, or a 20 year prison sentence.
"The trial is not serious. If court evidence is used as a basis, there will not be a maximum sentence demand," said Samsudin. The KPRM also recorded that some soldiers and intelligence officers carried weapons, including firearms into the courtroom.