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Jakarta Post

CYANIDE COFFEE TRIAL: When court hearings turn into a show

Callistasia Anggun Wijaya (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta
Sat, September 10, 2016

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CYANIDE COFFEE TRIAL: When court hearings turn into a show Visitors pack the courtroom at the Central Jakarta District Court before a hearing in the murder trial against Jessica Kumala Wongso on Sept. 5 in a case focused on a cyanide-laced coffee. (JP/Seto Wardhana)

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heers, lighting, a studio set with chairs and backdrop, cameras and dozens of people gathered in one place seems like an unusual sight at a murder trial. But for court proceedings in the case surrounding a cyanide-spiked coffee that killed Wayan Mirna Salihin in January, this sight has become the norm.

Since the first hearing on June 15, the high-profile murder trial is drama for the public, and the sole defendant Jessica Kumala Wongso, her team of attorneys, prosecutors, witnesses and the panel of judges all play their parts.

The room at the Central Jakarta District Court is always packed, so much so that Mirna's family members have to compete for seats with journalists and spectators.

At least two television stations broadcast live from the courtroom proceedings that can take up to six hours. Citing high ratings of the live telecast, the television stations add some spice to the reportage by setting up mini studios outside, where reporters would ask legal experts, psychologists, IT experts and even experts on facial expressions for their comments on the hearings.

The intense media coverage in turn has further tickled public curiosity, with more people watching the trial at each court session.

Tuti, 60, a housewife from Bungur Besar in Central Jakarta, decided to come to the court on Wednesday after religiously watching the previous trials on TV.

"I want to see Jessica's 'always cool face'," she said.

Coming to the court by herself, Tuti claimed she had grown emotionally attached to the case as a mother.

"I feel sad about what happened to Mirna. I can’t imagine if that kind of thing happened to my daughter or daughter in law. Mirna had just got married before she died," Tuti said.

Another housewife, Ida, 44, who lives in Cempaka Baru, Central Jakarta, also cited curiosity as the reason behind her attendance. Ida came to the court with a relative of hers named Risty. The two housewives were following the court proceedings, snapping several selfies in between and exchanging comments on any words uttered by the judges, prosecutors, lawyers or witnesses.

"The trial is so gripping, like a soap opera. I'm curious who is guilty in this case," Ida said, admitting that it was her second time to attend Jessica's trial. She said she was aiming to take a selfie with Jessica's lawyer Otto Hasibuan.

Journalists and members of the public crowd a courtroom at the Central Jakarta District Court for the trial on the murder of Wayan Mirna Salihin.(JP/Seto Wardhana)

Other visitors included five high school students from SMA Yapermas in Menteng, Central Jakarta, who attended the trial after school as part of their class's civic subject assignment by their teacher. Wearing the signature brown scout uniforms, the students were listening attentively at Wednesday’s hearing.

Otto complained once about the crowded and often noisy courtroom, where visitors would spontaneously react to whatever they heard with claps, boos or cheers. 

The Aug. 15 hearing that presented psychologist Antonio Ratih Andjayani as an expert witness saw some visitors cheer when Antonia gave testimony incriminating Jessica.

“Your honor, my friends in other countries called me. They asked me about Indonesian criminal procedure law. I was so ashamed when they asked me why there are cheerleaders in the courtroom,” Otto said, pleading with the judges to silence the courtroom.

With the trial about to enter its third month, there are no signs of the crowd losing interest. More cheers, mumbles and shouts will decorate the murder trial against with a young woman in the defendant seat. To add some drama, at Wednesday's hearing, prosecutors even got into a quarrel with Jessica's lawyers over testimony from forensic pathologist Djaja Surya Atmadja, invited as an expert witness by Jessica's camp. The two parties yelled at each other, prompting judge Kisworo to adjourn the trial.

Kisworo has said that the panel of judges aims to conclude the hearings in five months. If so, the judges would deliver their verdict by November as long as court sessions are on schedule.

Will the spectacle calm down before then or will the current media attention only amplify the case into an even bigger show? Let us wait and see. (rin)

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