Technology Constraints That Rizieq Might Be Worried About From The Online Session

JAKARTA - The defendant in the Health Quarantine violation case, Rizieq Shihab, still refuses to participate in the Advanced trial if it is still carried out online. He insisted on being present in person at the East Jakarta District Court (PN).

There is a reason for Rizieq Shihab to refuse the online trial process. On the agenda of the previous session, Rizieq felt that the internet signal was not good enough, so that the sound and images broadcast were often inaudible.

"The signal here is not good, I am not clear about hearing what was present at the trial. This is very detrimental to me, it depends on the signal," Rizieq said in a video of the trial, Tuesday, March 16.

In fact, not only in Indonesia, online trials were also held in many countries during the COVID-19 pandemic. In practice, many judicial institutions use teleconference services such as Zoom to conduct online trials.

It's just that not all online trials are safe from interference. Zoombombing has occurred in the trial of the verdict of the State Administrative Court (PTUN) against President Joko Widodo and the Minister of Communication and Information Technology (Menkominfo) regarding the Papua internet blocking case some time ago.

In that attack, hackers hijacked the video conference by sending threatening hate speech via text message fields. While other hackers who activate voice mode, had time to sing and say dirty words.

If not zoombombing, online trial disruption could occur because of the filters that webinar participants can use. As experienced by one lawyer who accidentally installed a kitten filter and covered his face during an online trial in Texas, United States (US).

In the 42-second video uploaded by the Texas District Court, Judge Roy Ferguson, who presided over the trial, rebuked lawyer Rod Ponton for his face covered in an adorable cat animated filter.

IMPORTANT ZOOM TIP: If a child used your computer, before you join a virtual hearing check the Zoom Video Options to be sure filters are off. This kitten just made a formal announcement on a case in the 394th (sound on). #lawtwitter #OhNo @zoom_ushttps: //t.co/I0zaj0wu6K

- Judge Roy Ferguson (@JudgeFergusonTX) February 9, 2021

Although cute and adorable, of course this incident interfered with the court process, which should have been formal. Moreover, Ponton's lawyer admitted that he did not know how to remove the filter.

"IMPORTANT ZOOM TIP: If a child is using your computer, before you join the virtual court check the Video Zoom Option to make sure the filters are off," Ferguson wrote in his tweet.

Of course this kind of thing is a separate assessment for Rizieq Shihab and the team of lawyers to reject the online trial. Even so, the online trial mechanism refers to the Supreme Court Regulation (Perma) Number 4 of 2020 concerning the Administration and Trial of Criminal Cases at Courts Electronically.

The regulation is a breakthrough in efforts to prevent the transmission of covid-19 in the judiciary. The online trial through teleconference must be equipped with adequate recording devices / cameras / CCTV.

So that judges, public prosecutors, defendants and legal advisers can be seen and heard clearly in the courtroom. For this reason, the online trial must be accompanied by IT personnel to ensure that the online trial runs smoothly.

Even if there are prosecutors, legal advisors are not present in the courtroom. Judicial institutions are required to have a verified account so that they can be used as media for online trials.