Cirebon. Prosecutors in the West Java town of Cirebon on Friday defended the murder convictions of eight men implicated in the 2016 deaths of teenage girl Vina Dewi Arsita and her boyfriend, Muhammad Rizky Rudiana, alias Eky. The stance was to respond to a legal motion by Saka Tatal, one of the convicts, who is seeking to overturn his guilty verdict despite having completed his prison time.

Two days earlier, Saka's defense team presented "new evidence" to suggest that Vina and Eky had died in a motorcycle crash and therefore urged to court to dismiss the murder case. The lawyers showed photos of the couple's bodies taken by police on the night of their deaths on August 27, 2024.

The photographs indicate no wounds caused by sharp weapons as the prosecutors have mentioned in the indictments against the murder suspects. The lawyers wanted to convince the court in the so-called judicial review hearing that the fatal wounds on the bodies were typical physical injuries from a motorcycle crash. The photos also show Eky's damaged motorcycle found near the bodies.

They also presented videos in which a key witness in the murder case retracted the testimonies he made against the defendants eight years ago and said he had been instructed to make false statements by police officer Rudiana, the father of the male victim. In addition, the defense presented media clips of National Police Chief Listyo Sigit Prabowo acknowledging the lack of "scientific crime investigation" in handling the murder case.

But prosecutor Gema Wahyudi argued before the Cirebon District Court that the evidence wasn't new at all.

Most of the photos presented by the defense are the same photos examined during court hearings in 2016, Gema said. Additionally, prosecutors cannot seriously examine evidence taken from social media posts, he added.

"We cannot verify the authenticity of information taken from social media platforms, whether or not it came from a competent source. We reject the presentation of new evidence in its entirety," Gema said.

Saka was released on parole after serving half of his eight-year sentence nearly four years ago. He has requested judicial review, the last legal avenue in Indonesia's justice system, arguing that his conviction was based on false testimonies and fabricated evidence.

The seven other convicts were sentenced to life imprisonment. They include Jaya, 23; Supriyanto, 20; Eka Sandi, 24; Hadi Saputra, 23; Eko Ramadani, 27; Sudirman, 21; and Rivaldi Aditya Wardana, 21. Saka, who was a minor during the trial, was sentenced to eight years in prison and has been released for good behavior after serving half of his sentence.

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