coalition of NGOs has reported judges from a district court in Jambi to the Judicial Commission for alleged ethics violation after a 15-year-old sexual abuse victim was sentenced to prison.
The NGOs—the Women and Children Care Alliance (APPA), the Institute for Criminal Justice Reform (ICJR) and the Legal Aid Foundation of Indonesian Women's Association for Justice (LBH APIK)—have found a number of irregularities in the trial.
The 15-year-old, who was allegedly repeatedly raped and later impregnated by her own brother, was sentenced to six months in prison by the Muara Bulian District Court for aborting her pregnancy.
She was tried alongside her brother, who was charged with abortion and sexual assault.
The activists said they had found that the same legal team had represented the girl and her brother.
“The same legal team worked for two related cases. This could lead to a conflict of interests,” Genoveva Alicia from the ICJR said, as quoted by tempo.co.
They also found it odd that the abortion trial and the rape trial were held on the same day.
Judicial Commission member Farid Wajdi said the commission would follow up on the report. “If we find indications of any ethics violation, we will question the judges.” (stu/ahw)
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