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Florence on trial without lawyers in Yogyakarta
Florence Sihombing
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Florence Sihombing. JP
The first hearing of law student Florence Saulina Sihombing, who was accused of spreading hatred through her Path account, was held at the Yogyakarta District Court on Wednesday without the presence of her lawyers.
'In the next hearing I will be here with my lawyers. I ask for two weeks to find lawyers,' Florence told the court.
Responding to the request, the panel of judges presided over by Bambang Sunanta said that she would be given one week only to find lawyers.
'You have to follow the schedule to prevent detention,' Bambang told the defendant.
During the investigation process, the Yogyakarta Police detained Florence from Aug. 29 to Sept. 1 this year. Florence, who is enrolled in Gadjah Mada University's School of Law's notary Master's program, was only released after the school paid her bail.
During Wednesday's hearing, prosecutor Rahayu Nur Raharsi questioned Florence about the statements posted on her Path acount.
The posting in question reads: 'Yogya is poor, stupid and uncivilized. Jakarta and Bandung friends, don't stay in Yogya. Yogyakartans are b*****ds. I wanted to buy Pertamax 95 but was not served because I was on a motorbike. I queued in the car line and was not served. I was told to queue in the motorbike line, which was extremely long. It's discrimination. Did they think I couldn't pay for it? I'm so annoyed!'
Rahayu argued that the posting explicitly mentioned Yogyakarta city, which was identical to the Yogyakarta Javanese ethnicity. The status, she added, expressed hatred against Yogyakarta because it was followed by a message calling on the defendants' friends from Jakarta and Bandung not to stay in Yogyakarta.
The prosecutor accused the defendant of violating Articles 28 (2) and 45 (2) of Law No. 11/2008 on electronic information and transaction, which carries a maximum penalty of six years in prison or a fine of Rp 1 billion (US$80,000).
Florence posted the comments after she was not served when she cut the line to join the car queue to buy fuel at the Lempuyangan gas station in Yogyakarta on August 27.
Speaking after the hearing on Wednesday, Florence declined to reveal why she refused to use the services of the lawyers provided by UGM School of Law's Center of Legal Aid and Studies (PKBH).
She also declined to say if the reason was because the PKBH turned down her request to file a counter-charge against the Yogyakarta police with regard to her investigation process and detention.
Separately, the dean of UGM School of Law, Paripurna, acknowledged that he had heard that Florence had requested certain things that the PKBH had found difficult to fulfill.
Moreover, he said, the center's authority to represent Florence had expired as it was effective only until the police had handed the dossier to the prosecutors' office.
'Based on the PKBH's evaluation, there were indeed differences between Florence's and the center's vision, and the PKBH no longer wishes to represent her in court,' Paripurna said.
