TIMIKA TRIAL STOPPED FOR LACK OF INTERPRETER

UNCLAS JAKARTA 010998 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS FBI PLS PASS TO CTD/ITOS I, CTD/ITOS II, GOU SECSTATE FOR EAP/MTS AND DS/DSS, DS/IP/EAP, DS/EAP/ITA, AND CA/OCS/ACS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PGOV ASEC CASC KJUS ID SUBJECT: TIMIKA TRIAL STOPPED FOR LACK OF INTERPRETER REF: A. JAKARTA 10704 WITNESS TESTIMONY IN TIMIKA TRIAL TO BEGIN ¶B. JAKARTA 10297 TIMIKA TRIAL SESSIONS PROCEED WITHOUT DEFENDANTS ¶C. JAKARTA 8958 TIMIKA TRIAL OPENS ¶1. (U) The trial of the seven men accused of killing two Amcits in Timika, Papua in 2002 took another turn on September 5 when Judge Nurdin ruled that the defendants were entitled to an interpreter. In a courtroom crowded with spectators and police, defense lawyers interrupted the testimony of the first witness called in the case, Amcit Patsy Spier, to request that the court provide an interpreter to translate the proceedings from Bahasa Indonesia into the defendants' native language of Amungme. Ms. Spier had been speaking for 10-15 minutes when the interruption occurred. An interpreter supplied by the Department of Foreign Affairs translated her testimony into Bahasa Indonesia. Prosecutors objected to the request, stating that the defendants had responded to questions from police during interrogation without interpreters being present and that they had never requested one during previous sessions. While Judge Nurdin expressed her irritation at the behavior of the defense team, she approved the request and ordered the trial be suspended until September 8 to give the prosecutors time to locate a suitable interpreter. Two other victims, Amcits Steven Emma and Kenneth Balk, were scheduled to testify immediately after Ms. Spier. ¶2. (U) As the session opened the defendants took their proper seats in the docket, something they had refused to do for the past several weeks. However, the defense attorneys arrived late for the session and changed into their robes in the courtroom, demonstrating their intention to continue to do whatever it takes to delay the proceedings. There was a strong police presence and tighter than normal security measures in place. ¶3. (SBU) Under Indonesian law, the Court is required to provide an interpreter if there is a need for one in a particular case. In practice, however, Embassy contacts say that judges always ask prosecutors to supply the interpreter, and efforts are underway to locate one. Although the judge ruled in favor of the defense, our contacts say it is possible for the judge to decide differently at the next session if an interpreter is still not available. PASCOE