Baracuda On Standby At The South Jakarta District Court

Situation of the South Jakarta District Court at Rizieq Shihab's Initial Preliminary Session (Photo: Antara)

JAKARTA - A total of 1,500 personnel from the South Jakarta Metro Police and Polda Metro Jaya have been deployed to guard the pretrial trial that Rizieq Shihab has submitted at the South Jakarta District Court, Monday, January 4.

Police personnel have been on guard around the South Jakarta District Court on Jalan Ampera Raya, since morning. A number of police tactical vehicles were also alerted, such as "baracuda" and "water cannons".

The "water canon" tactical car was stationed at Jalan Ampera Raya, while the "baracuda" was put on alert at the South Jakarta District Court parking lot.

The police restrict citizens from entering the court. Parking for court visitors' vehicles is also diverted outside the court.

Police guard at two points the entrance and exit of the South Jakarta District Court. Police personnel were also on guard from a radius of 50 meters from the court, in two directions, both from Pejaten and towards Ragunan.

"We don't want crowds at the trial. We anticipate that, so we secure two points," said South Jakarta Metro Police Chief Kombes Budi Sartono.

Budi emphasized that security was carried out so that there were no crowds that could interfere with the proceedings.

The South Jakarta District Court has scheduled a trial for the reading of the pretrial petition filed by Rizieq Shihab's attorney on Monday, January 4 at 09.00 WIB.

The court has also appointed a single judge to preside over the proceedings. "The judge is Pak Akhmad Sahyuti, the registrar to replace Agustinus Endri," said Suharno.

Rizieq Shihab's attorney has registered a pretrial application for the determination of suspect, arrest and detention of Rizieq, with the defendant being Polda Metro Jaya.

The pretrial application was registered on December 15, 2020, registered with registration number 150 / Pid.Pra / 2020 / PN.Jkt.Sel.

Rizieq's attorney, Aziz Yanuar, said that registering a pretrial lawsuit is an effort to uphold justice and an elegant effort by the legal team to defend the legal interests of the ulama.

"This legal effort is our effort to uphold justice, eradicate the alleged criminalization of ulama and undermine the allegation of legal discrimination that is continuously suspected of occurring against the public, especially if there is a difference in opinion with the government," said Aziz.