The Serang District Court in Banten recently cleared 12 defendants of the primary charge of inciting hatred and mob violence, but found them guilty of “participation in a violent attack that results in casualties”, in the act of violence that left three Ahmadiyah followers killed in Cikeusik village last February.
Several Indicators pointed to a Mock Trial in this case
The court handed down light sentences of between three and six months in jail for each of the men, even though they were charged under a crime that carries a jail term of up to seven years. Ten of the defendants, including cleric Ujang Muhammad Arif, who allegedly provoked the attack, were sentenced to six months in jail each. One defendant, Idis bin Mahdani, received five months and 15 days in prison, while juvenile defendant Dani bin Misra was sentenced to three months in prison.
They all avoided other charges, including illegal possession of sharp weapons, destruction of property, mistreatment of others, participation in an assault, involvement in an attack and attack on others that causes serious injury or death.
As predicted, the verdict failed to deliver justice for the victims. From the beginning, the trial looked as if it was intended to fail and be merely a mock trial. There are, at the very least, several indicators of this assumption, as follows:
Categories: Indonesia