T

he defendant in a sexual assault trial, spiritual guru Anand Krishna, alleged that the whole court proceedings were a shame aimed at bringing him down.

In a press briefing held soon after delivering his defense statement at the South Jakarta District Court, Anand said the court case had been cooked up by powerful people aimed at “destroying my good reputation”.

Prosecutors in the case have sought a prison term of 2.5 years, which Anand considers unfair as the prosecution against him is not supported by strong evidence.

One of the prosecutors, Martha Berliana Tobing, maintained that Anand had violated Criminal Code articles 294 and 290 on sexual harrasment and demanded 2.5 years’ imprisonment.

One of Anand’s disciples, Tara Pradipta Laksmi, filed a complaint of alleged sexual harassment against Anand in February last year.

Hari Sasangka, the first judge appointed to oversee the case, was removed after allegations surfaced that he had had a relationship with one of the witnesses. Hari was transferred to the Ambon High Court and replaced by respected judge Albertine Ho.

Albertine subsequently asked witnesses to present their testimonies again. However, many of the witnesses refused to appear in court and stuck to their earlier statements.

Anand, whose defense team comprises lawyers from five different law firms, objected to this and said that the new judge needed to extract fresh information from the witnesses.

Martha, however, insisted she had gathered enough evidence from the witnesses.

“We are confident that we have enough evidence; we don’t need to bring all the witnesses back since their testimonies would remain the same,” she said.

One of Anand’s lawyers, Otto Hasibuan, said witnesses re-presenting their testimonies would help his client.

“Tara has appeared before the new judge and she changed her statement. Previously, she said she had been assaulted everyday for months. Later, she said that Anand had abused her on four occasions,” he said.

Another of Anand’s lawyers, Andreas Nahot Silitonga, said he was optimistic that his client would be cleared.

“There are too many loopholes in this case and we have high hopes about Albertine’s leadership and credibility,” he said.

Anand Krishna, 55, who founded the Anand Ashram foundation as a Center for Holistic Health and Meditation in 1991, is also known for his social activism. (lfr)