TIMIKA TRIAL: DEFENDANTS UNCOOPERATIVE

C O N F I D E N T I A L JAKARTA 009697 SIPDIS SIPDIS FBI PLS PASS CTD/ITOS I, CTD/ITOS II, GOU SECSTATE FOR EAP/MTS, DS/DSS, DS/IP/EAP, DS,EAP/ITA, AND CA/OCS/ACS E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/02/2016 TAGS: PREL PGOV ASEC CASC KJUS PHUM ID SUBJECT: TIMIKA TRIAL: DEFENDANTS UNCOOPERATIVE REF: JAKARTA 8958 (TIMIKA TRIAL OPENS) Classified By: Daniel E. Turnbull, Acting Political Counselor. Reason: 1.4 (b, d) ¶1. (C) Summary: Defense lawyers appears for the first time at the August 1 session of the trial for the murder of two Amcits in Timika, Papua in 2002, but defendants continued their refusal to cooperate. Prosecutors say this will not alter the prosecution of the case, and expect to call Amcit witnesses in mid-September. End summary. ¶2. (SBU) The August 1 session of the trial of suspects charged in the 2002 murder of two Americans and one Indonesian near Timika, Papua (reftel) was supposed to be devoted to the defense lawyers' response to the indictment. For the first time since the trial began, the defense attorneys appeared in court. The defense team is headed by Johnson Panjaitan of the Indonesian Legal Aid Society (PBHI). ¶3. (SBU) However, the process once again came to a standstill when Anthonious Wamang, charged with premeditated murder and other offenses, refused to take his seat or to respond to questions from the judge. Panjaitan was granted a thirty-minute break to reason with his client, but when the court resumed, the session was boycotted not only by Wamang but by the six other defendants charged with aiding and abetting. Panjaitan requested and received permission to adjourn the proceedings until August 8. ¶4. (C) Comment: Today's developments contributed to the trial's slow start, but were anticipated by the prosecution and, according to them, should not ultimately affect the prosecution of the case. In a July 27 meeting, prosecutors told us they estimated that U.S. expert and victim witnesses would likely be called to testify sometime in mid-September. In an August 2 discussion, prosecutors assured us that the trial would continue even if the defendants refused to cooperate. Lead Prosecutor Anita Asterida cited as a precedent a terrorism case in Poso, Sulawesi, in which an uncooperative defendant was compelled to be present in the courtroom. End Comment. PASCOE