Meeting with lawyers

Wednesday, August 28, 1996 - 10:00

Meeting with lawyers

On August 21, lawyers were finally able to meet Budiman Sujatmiko. Following the meeting, Jakarta lawyer Johnson Panjaitan announced that a team of 33 lawyers had been formed to defend Budiman and other PRD members detained in Jakarta. The team will be led by Abdul Hakim Garuda Nasution, one of Indonesia's leading human rights lawyers.

Panjaitan told the media that Budiman rejected the accusation that he was the "mastermind" of the July 27 riots. Budiman also protested against being interrogated by unauthorised bodies. Panjaitan said only the police and the attorney-general's office had the right, implying that Budiman had been subjected to interrogation by the military. Panjaitan and other lawyers were also able to meet PRD leaders Petrus Haryanto and Josep Kurniawan, and SMID leader Garda Sembiring.

From GLW issue 244