Prosecutors demanded Tuesday that the Medan District Court jail six students to a seven-year jail term for their involvement in a violent protest that led to the death of North Sumatran legislative council speaker Abdul Aziz Angkat in February.
The defendants were identified as Supri Handi Hutapea, Sopan Megayanto Simanungkalit, Matatia Januari Sibuea, Deddi Lumban Tungkup, Maraga Banjarnahor and Lintong Adelman Lumbantoruan - all students from Medan's University of Sisingamangaraja XII.
Fifty-four other defendants, local councilors-elect and lecturers, are also standing trial separately, but the court is still hearing testimonies from witnesses.
The charged councilors-elect include Tahan Manahan Panggabean from the Democratic Party and Pustaha Nurdin Manurung who leads the National Party Concerned for People (PPRN).
Prosecutor Adlina told the court the six students were proven to have been involved in the Feb. 3, 2009 violent protest pushing for the creation of Tapanuli province.
Adlina said the defendants were guilty of breaking Article 146 in the Criminal Code for various offenses including provocation, violence and disbanding a council meeting.
She said the prosecutors demanded a heavier sentence because the defendants' actions had resulted in the dissolution of a council plenary session, which was led by Abdul Aziz Angkat, and had destroyed the council's meeting room.
Adlina said that as "intellectuals" the students should not have created anarchy and should have instead set an example for other students.
In response, the students and their lawyers rejected the prose-cutors' case, saying they would present their defense at the trial next week. "The demand does not serve any sense of justice," Rajendar Singh, one of the lawyers, said after the Tuesday trial.
Abdul Aziz died of a heart attack hours after he was set upon by the mob who were protesting the council's decision to postpone a plenary meeting to discuss the partition of Tapanuli from North Sumatra to become a new province.
Separately, senior prosecutor Windu Swondy said his office submitted the case files of eight other defendants with the same court. The group of eight suspects were accused of masterminding the Medan riot.
Two witnesses, Abdul Muluk Siregar and Elmadon Ketaren, had previously told the same court that the riot was premeditated and had been detected by intelligence agents. They said they had been informed of the planned unrest and had notified the chief councilor.
Having received the same information about the plan to incite violence during the demonstration from another intelligence agent, Muluk said he had immediately called Aziz and asked him not to attend the plenary meeting. However, he said, Aziz had not responded positively to the call.
