Charges against Tommy Suharto

Premeditated murder Illegal possession of firearms Fleeing to avoid an 18 month conviction

The trial is a massive test of the country's legal and judicial systems, which are still seen as being open to corruption.

The case has been adjourned until 27 March. The court is due to sit for just one day a week and the trial could take up to four months.

The trial has generated huge public interest, and the courtroom was filled to capacity on Wednesday as Tommy gave his name and other basic details to the judges.

He declined to enter a formal plea - defendants do not have to do so under Indonesian law. However he has publicly denied the main charge of murder.

'Electric' atmosphere

Tommy - whose real name is Hutomo Mandala Putra - is the favourite son of the man who ruled Indonesia for more than 30 years.

Tommy is the youngest son of the former president

Flanked by dozens of heavily armed policemen, he walked into the central Jakarta court without making any comment.

Wearing a traditional silver and black batik shirt and black trousers, he ignored the clamour of photographers and cameramen inside the courtroom.

Our correspondent in Jakarta says the atmosphere was electric. No-one had ever imagined this case would come before the courts, such is the continuing power and wealth of the Suharto family.

But our correspondent says many people doubt that Tommy will face a serious trial. It is widely believed in Indonesia that the judiciary can still be manipulated, particularly by those with large amounts of money.

Evidence

Tommy is charged with masterminding the murder of a Supreme Court judge last July, while he was on the run to avoid a prison sentence for corruption.

The president's son was famous for his lavish lifestyle

Judge Syafiuddin Kartasasmita - who had sentenced Tommy to 18 months in prison - was shot dead in broad daylight in central Jakarta as he drove to work.

The prosecution said Tommy had paid two men $10,000 to carry out the killing and had personally given them the weapons. The trial of the two men is already underway.

Prosecutors also said Tommy had initially planned to carry out the murder himself but had changed his mind.

Prosecutors alleged that Tommy visited Kartasasmita in November 2000 and asked why he had been convicted.

According to the prosecution charge sheet, which was read out in court, Kartasasmita told Tommy to seek a pardon from then-president Abdurrahman Wahid.

Tommy is then alleged to have told the judge: "Sir, if someone is nice to me, I can be nice to him in return but if he is mean I can do worse than what he does to me."

Tommy has also been charged with possession of illegal weapons and being a fugitive from justice.

He was on the run for nearly a year before he was finally arrested last November.

A month earlier, the corruption conviction was controversially overturned.