"A puff of rumour grew into a tempest of accusations that led to the jailing of seven people for alleged child abuse at an elite international school in Jakarta. Was justice served - or was it a case of moral panic? " (ABC Foreign Correspondent)"
The documentaries can be found at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CiiCoxuruc&feature=youtu.be
See National Post story: (April2, 2015): "Mind-boggling’ trial of Canadian found guilty of raping Indonesian students leaves unsettling questions."..."“Today is a miscarriage of justice,” Bantleman said before being led
out of court, to cheers and applause from supporters from the school,
according to Jewel Topsfield, Indonesia correspondent for the Sydney Morning Herald, reporting from the Jakarta court. “We will continue to fight until the truth comes out,” he said. His brother, Guy Bantleman, attacked the case for being “shrouded in secrecy [and] a lack of transparency.” “The judge basically threw out every piece of evidence, every witness
that the defence put up through the case,” he said. “It’s
mind-boggling. There hasn’t been a piece of evidence that has actually
proven anything.” The strange trial, however, is unsatisfying even to those who believe
Bantleman committed the rapes, said Jack Hewson, a freelance journalist
based in Indonesia who covered the case and the verdict. “It’s ridiculous,” he said, that the verdict in such a case does nothing to prove a man’s innocence or guilt. “It’s an absolute mess. It’s very important not to get too jumping on
the bandwagon with the way the narrative is going right now,” he said,
noting an aggressive public relations campaign on Bantleman’s behalf is
underway. “There has not been an objective observer at all and now it’s become a
media trial, with the defence trying to get their point out. It’s left
us in a complete no-man’s land. “There are still three children with two parents each who decided it
was worthwhile putting their child through this. One is suing for $125
million but the other two aren’t.” But questions and doubts were inevitable because of the trial process and the judge, he said. A lack of any independent observers, odd evidence accepted as fact
and an obvious animosity the presiding judge displayed toward Bantleman
and his lawyers all prevent the verdict from bringing closure. “The judge clearly hates Neil and the defence team, so I’m not sure I
trust her summary of the trial,” he said. “The judge might normally be
an objective observer but having observed her, she is not an objective
observer.” The evidence and testimony against Bantleman was heard behind closed
doors, ostensibly to protect the child victims in the case. However, the
identities of the children were openly discussed in the lengthy
verdict, read over six hours in public. Nuraslam Bustaman, the presiding judge in the panel of three,
summarized some of the evidence she accepted pointing to Bantleman’s
guilt. She accepted much of the expert opinion and testimony from
prosecutors’ witnesses and seemed to reject much of the testimony of
witnesses called by the defence. Some evidence seems odd, such as drawing from a sex counsellor’s
testimony that Bantleman had sex with his wife once a week as suggestive
he was more likely to be a pedophile. Testimony from one psychologist who said a boy spoke of a “magic
stone” that had been inserted into his anus so he would not feel pain
during molestation was accepted by the judge but no object was found or
presented in court. And while Bantleman’s lawyers presented thousands of letters of
support for their client testifying to his good character, the impact
was not as intended: The judge took the tone and tenor of some of the
letters as threats or attempts to influence justice and deemed them the
sort of thing a guilty man would do."
http://news.nationalpost.com/news/world/mind-boggling-trial-of-canadian-found-guilty-of-raping-indonesian-students-leaves-unsettling-questions
http://news.nationalpost.com/news/world/mind-boggling-trial-of-canadian-found-guilty-of-raping-indonesian-students-leaves-unsettling-questions
