http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/home/disorder-as-high-profile-libel-hearing-disrupted-by-bendera/418078
Disorder as High-Profile Libel Hearing Disrupted by Bendera Ronna Nirmala & Obey Wibinnov Sianipar | January 20, 2011 Surrounded by supporters, Bendera head Mustar Bonaventura, center, shouts as he walks out during court proceedings on Thursday. Mustar, along with Ferdy Simawun, is facing libel charges after accusing the president's son and ministers of embezzling Bank Century bailout funds. (JG Photo) The hearing of a libel suit filed by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's son and three ministers erupted into chaos on Thursday when the defendants initially refused to enter the courtroom and later walked out in the middle of proceedings. The defendants, Mustar Bonaventura and Ferdy Simawun from the ultranationalist youth group Bendera, are being sued for claiming in December 2009 that several members of Yudhoyono's inner circle and his campaign team took Rp 1.8 trillion ($200 million) in kickbacks from the controversial Rp 6.7 trillion government bailout of Bank Century. Those filing suit include Yudhoyono's son Edhie Baskoro; Djoko Suyanto, the coordinating minister for legal, political and security affairs; Sports Minister Andi Mallarangeng; and Hatta Rajasa, the coordinating minister for economic affairs. Thursday's hearing at the Central Jakarta District Court, which was scheduled to begin at 1 p.m., was held up for an hour as dozens of Bendera members protested outside the courthouse against the suit, which they called unfair. Inside, lawyers for Mustar and Ferdy told the judges that the defendants refused to enter the courtroom unless their supporters were also allowed in. The panel of judges, led by Bayu Istiatmoko, gave the defendants 15 minutes to appear or face "serious action." The two men finally appeared along with their supporters. Djoko was the first witness to take the stand and was immediately assailed by taunts from the Bendera crowd who called him a liar and accused him of embezzling bailout funds. Defense attorney Saor Siagian tried to corner Djoko into admitting that he had received bailout funds. Djoko replied that he was not involved in the Century case, which led to one Bendera supporter yelling, "Tell the truth, don't be a liar." The presiding judge halted the proceedings and ordered police to remove the Bendera members from the courtroom. A minor scuffle then broke out between the police and the Bendera members, prompting defendants Mustar and Ferdy to leave the scene with their lawyers in protest against having their supporters removed from the court. For next week's hearing, Bayu ordered Edhie and Hatta, who were absent on Thursday, to attend and give their testimony. "This is the final call. If they don't attend, we will then take action to force their attendance." [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ Post message: [email protected] Subscribe : [email protected] Unsubscribe : [email protected] List owner : [email protected] Homepage : http://proletar.8m.com/Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: [email protected] [email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
