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s the families of the four brutally murdered Cebongan Penitentiary detainees called for a civilian court trial for 11 members of the Army’s Special Forces (Kopassus) who stand accused of the crime, the government insisted that the soldiers would only be tried in a military tribunal.

Defense Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro said the government was firm in its decision to allow the soldiers to be tried in a military tribunal as the prison attack constituted no human rights violation.

“Based on an investigation conducted by the Military Police, the attack inside the prison was spontaneous in nature and did not involve systematic planning. I think we should stick to these findings,” Purnomo said in a press briefing at the Defense Ministry on Thursday.

Purnomo also guaranteed that there would be a fair trial under the military court system and that the court proceedings would be opened to the public.

The minister said that the trial for the 11 Kopassus members would neither be a civilian nor human rights tribunal based on Law No. 31/1997, which stipulates that any member of the military accused of criminal misconduct can only be tried in a military court.

With its decision to try the soldiers in military tribunal, the government has slighted the demands of the families of the four victims in the raid, Hendrik Angel Sahetapi, Yohanes Juan Manbait, Gameliel Yermianto Rohi Riwu and Adrianus Candra Galaja.

The four victims were suspected of being responsible for the death of a former Kopassus soldier First Sgt. Heru Santoso, which took place at Hugo’s Café in Yogyakarta following an altercation.

The families of the victims recently met with senior government officials to voice their demands for the staging of a civilian court to hear the murder case.

After meeting with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s legal and human rights advisor Albert Hasibuan and Deputy Law and Human Rights Minister Denny
Indrayana on Wednesday, families of the victims held a meeting with the House of Representatives Commission III overseeing laws and human rights on Tuesday.

With support from the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), members of the families urged lawmakers to amend the 1997 Military Tribunal Law.

“The only way to have a transparent and accountable legal process is through a civilian court,” said Victor Manbait, the brother of Juan.

Families of the victims also called on Commission III to launch a probe into the Hugo’s Café incident to reveal what really happened during the fateful night.

Kontras chairman Haris Azhar said that there were too many unanswered questions in the incident.

“Lawmakers must ensure the investigation covers the incident at the café, which was recorded on CCTV [close circuit television] camera. We will never know what was really behind the incident unless we can access the recording,” Haris said.

Head of the Defense Ministry’s legal division, Brig. Gen. Nurhajizah, said that the military court could issue harsher punishments if the soldiers were found guilty of committing crimes.

“The public perceive the military court to be lenient because they don’t see the court’s proceedings. We always take incriminating and mitigating factors into account before we issue a verdict,” Nurhajizah said. (ogi)