Jakarta – Judges in Indonesia's first human rights court ruled Thursday that the trial of a former police chief in East Timor is legal and should go ahead, throwing out arguments by defence lawyers that the court breaches the constitution.
Lawyers for Timbul Silaen had argued that the tribunal was illegal because Indonesia's human rights law was only passed in 2000 while crimes in East Timor took place a year earlier, breaching the constitutional ban on retroactive laws.
The defence team also said the law did not mention East Timor as part of the court's jurisdiction. Prosecutors had disputed the arguments.
Silaen, 53, and former East Timor governor Abilio Soares, 54, appeared for the third time before the human rights court on Thursday, with their cases heard separately.
They are accused of gross human rights violations by ignoring the massacre of scores of people by their subordinates. The charges are punishable by between 10 years' jail and death.
Trials for both men were adjourned until April 4, when three witnesses – former armed forces chief General Wiranto, former regional military commander Major General Adam Damiri and East Timor ex-military chief Colonel Nur Muis – are due to testify.
Muis and Damiri are among 18 military, police, militia and civilian officials due to face trial in the rights court over the army-backed attacks by pro-Jakarta militias on independence supporters in April and September 1999.
Wiranto is not in the dock even though rights groups have suggested that he was morally responsible for the East Timor crimes.
Prosecutors in Soares' separate hearing on Thursday defended the tribunal, saying it was meant to avert a possible United Nations international crimes court. "We fear that failure to address this case seriously will prompt the International Court of Justice to take over the case. This is what we have to avoid," prosecutor I Ketut Murtika told judges.
The prosecutors, who took turns reading their argument, also said justice for rights violators outweighed any legal formality and failure to punish them would be against principles of justice. "In the absence of a regulation we should adopt international legal conventions," said the prosecutors, citing the examples of Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia. A decision by judges on whether Soares' trial can continue is due next week.
Militiamen organised by senior Jakarta officials waged a campaign of intimidation before East Timor's vote to split from Indonesia, and a "scorched earth" revenge campaign afterwards. They killed hundreds of people, torched towns and forced more than 250,000 people into Indonesian-ruled West Timor after the vote.
East Timor is currently under UN administration and will attain independence on May 20.
Jakarta has come under strong international pressure to punish the atrocities but international rights groups are sceptical that the rights court will deliver justice. Top officers of the powerful military have attended some of the trials at the Central Jakarta district court in a show of support for defendants.