The deed no self respecting FPI preman would do

Isn’t it so comforting to see justice being administered so swiftly and decisively in Indonesia. Justice, which moves so slowly and timidly when FPI guys are on the giving end, apparently speeds up when the violence goes another way.

Unspun is not so much perplexed by the seemingly uneven-handedness of the law in Indonesia, which is not an unusual thing, but the reputation of the poor FPI victims. Those of you who know anything about the FPI guys will know that they are real tough guys who would want to make Al Capone look like a sissy.

Tough guys, as we know from countless gangster movies, always settle their scores their way. A butterfly knife, a pistol shot, a golok, a big stick are the usual method of getting back at anyone who offends them or attacks them. So what sort of a tough guy is this who runs to the police and the courts for protection and restitution?

Will other gangsters respect him from now on? Or will they laugh at him, like a boy who wets his pants at the sight of his own shadow. Will other FPI members, if they actually have a brain, be able to look at him straight in the eyes and prevent themselves from giggling?

These are the questions that matter where gangsters are concerned, not how justice is or is not dispensed by the police and courts. So get with the program.

Two Men Convicted For Attacking FPI Member

The Semarang district court on Tuesday declared two men guilty for abusing a member of a hard-line Islamic group.

Koes Setiawan Danang Marwardi, locally known as Iwan Walet, was sentenced to 15 months in jail, while his cohort, Mardi Sugeng, also known as Gembor, received one year in prison.

Presiding Judge Boedi Soseanto said that both men were proven convincingly guilty for attacking Dwi Pamuji, a member of the extremist group the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI), this past May.

“Both defendants violated Article 170 of the Criminal Code on abuse according to the indictment,” Boedi read during the ruling on Tuesday, as quoted by Antara news agency.

Iwan Walet, a recidivist, apologized earlier to the victim and promised the judge that he would not repeat his mistake.

Though the sentence was three months shorter than what Bima Suprayoga, the prosecutor, demanded, both he and the convicts accepted the ruling.

During the previous session of court, Iwan admitted to beating the victim with a 100-cm metal pole, while Gembor confessed that he kicked and beat Dwi with a brick.

After the ruling was read, some FPI members shouted at the judge and asked him to release the convicts so that they could take revenge. Iwan then stared at the FPI supporters and challenged them — he shouted “One guts!” and his supporters answered him with “Ora Wedi,” Javanese for “Not Afraid.”

After the case, FPI members tried to attack Iwan’s supporters, but police officers prevented them doing so and escorted them out of the court.