Protests By Prosecutors Presenting Experts, Jessica Wongso Walk Out From The PK Session

The trial for the reconsideration (PK) of Jessica Wongso's case continues without the applicant's presence at the Central Jakarta District Court (PN), Monday (18/11/2024). ANTARA/Agatha Olivia Victoria

JAKARTA - The convict in the premeditated murder case Jessica Kumala Wongso and her team of legal advisors left or walked out of the trial for a review (PK) at the Central Jakarta District Court (PN).

Jessica's legal adviser, Hidayat Bostam, said that his party objected if during the trial of the PK application, the public prosecutor as the respondent presented an expert to be examined because the PK application was his client's stage as a applicant.

"Your Honor, the panel of judges, because we objected, we decided to walk out," Hidayat said before leaving the courtroom as reported by ANTARA, Monday, November 18.

Therefore, the legal advisor is of the opinion that in the trial of the PK application, the prosecutor should only respond or object to the experts presented by his party, not actually present experts for examination.

According to him, if the prosecutor returns to present experts, the condition will be the same and repeat the trial of the premeditated murder case in 2016.

"This should be the right of the convict who gets a new novum, that's why we propose a PK," he said.

Nevertheless, Chief Judge Zulkifli Atjo still allowed prosecutors to present experts, thus inviting Jessica and her team of legal advisors to leave the courtroom.

"Later, the applicant's objection will be recorded in the court memorandum," said the presiding judge.

The two experts presented by the prosecutor for questioning at the PK trial were digital forensic experts, namely Muhammad Nuh Al Azhar and Christopher Hariman Rianto.

The trial of expert examination from the prosecutor continued without the presence of Jessica and her legal advisor team as the applicant.

In the PK application hearing, Jessica asked to be acquitted of the murder indictment of Wayan Mirna Salihin.

Even though Jessica is already released on condition, Jessica still feels that she has not committed the actions she has been accused of, so she wants to refute and hope that the Supreme Court (MA) declares herself innocent.

When reading PK's memory at the trial at the Central Jakarta District Court, Tuesday (29/10), Jessica Wongso's legal adviser, Andra Reinhard Pasaribu, said the request was due to CCTV footage allegedly being engineered and proven in a previous trial that the CCTV footage confiscation procedure was not in accordance with the provisions.

"The decision from the first instance of the court until a review in this case for the sake of law must be canceled because it has been based on CCTV footage which is illegal evidence," said Andra.

Since the beginning, Jessica's legal advisory team has been defending by stating that the CCTV footage played on the trial has been cut. However, at that time the legal advisory team did not have evidence of the CCTV footage, so the judge ignored it.

However, currently, Jessica's legal advisory team has found footage that can prove the CCTV footage is incomplete from start to finish, which makes it a mistake to conclude the case.

The inventor of the CCTV footage that became new evidence (novum) of Jessica's case named Helmi Bottam. He had been sworn in before the PK memory was read.

Previously, the Directorate General of Corrections at the Ministry of Law and Human Rights stated that Jessica was released from condition as of Sunday, August 18, 2024.

As a conditionally free convict, Jessica is still required to report and undergo guidance until 2032.