Police Arrest 15 Over Rioting In Courtroom

Jakarta, Nov 15 (Antara) - Police have arrested 15 people in connection with Thursday`s anarchic incident at the courtroom of the Constitutional Court. "The Central Jakarta police immediately took four people into custody after the incident, and later that evening, they arrested 11 more," Jakarta Metropolitan Police Command spokesman Senior Commissioner Rikwanto said here on Friday. He noted that the police had not as yet named them as suspects since questioning was still underway. "Investigators have seized closed-circuit television records as well as media reports of the incident. Based on this evidence, they will determine the level of involvement of the individuals being held in the incident. If they are proven guilty of being involved in the incident, they could be charged with vandalism, instigation of a riot, and contempt of court," he stated. Rikwanto said a number of assets in the courtroom had been damaged during the incident, such as microphones, monitors and glass items. The riot broke out when the Constitutional Court judge ruled to reject a lawsuit in the dispute over the results of Maluku`s provincial governor election. Those who had filed the lawsuit and their supporters waiting outside the courtroom grew enraged upon hearing the ruling and ransacked the courtroom. In light of the situation, the judges as well as witnesses from the party being sued escaped into the back room for safety. "The police and security were trying to stop their actions, but arrests were also made after back-up units arrived. Among those arrested are Daud Sangaji and Mansur Sangaji," Rikwanto remarked. Daud Sangaji is one of the candidates for Maluku governor who filed the lawsuit against the results of the election. The incident has raised concerns in many quarters including from the President, who deplored it. A chief legislator, Pieter Zulkifli, meanwhile, blamed the security agency for the incident. "From what I saw on television, it was clear to see that police officers did not immediately take action to stop the vandalism. It seemed as if they were afraid of those who were perpetuating the violence," the chairman of the House of Representatives` Commission III said. Another member of Commission III, Martin Hutabarat, meanwhile, noted that the incident reflected the result of the declining authority of the court. "It shows that the authority of the Constitutional Court has declined. Never before has such an incident happened in the court," he told Antara. The former chief of the Constitution Court, Akil Mochtar, was recently named a suspect in a corruption case by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK).