Manado court returns Walhi case to police

The Manado District Court on Wednesday refused to try two environmental activists charged with organizing demonstrations without permits and returned the case to the police, Antara state news agency reported.

Judge I Made Sukadana said the court could not try Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) executive director Berry Nahdian Furqon and water and food campaign manager Erwin Usman because the police lacked evidence.

The police arrested Berry Nahdian Furqon and Erwin Usman after attending the Indonesian Fishermen's Conference on Monday, during the opening of the World Ocean Conference in Manado.

The police charged both activists of leading demonstrations without permits during the conference.

Nurcholis, a member of the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) who attended Wednesday's court session, said the commission monitored the proceedings to see if the whole process violated the freedom of expression.