NEW YORK,Febrauary25,2012: The trial of an Indian-origin Rutgers University student accused of spying on his roommate's sexual encounter with another man began today with attorneys preparing to give their opening statements. Dharun Ravi is charged in a 15-count indictment with bias intimidation, invasion of privacy and hindering apprehension for using a web cam to spy on his roommate Tyler Clementi. Clementi committed suicide in September 2010 by jumping off the George Washington bridge near here a few days after Ravi wrote about the sexual encounter on microblogging site Twitter. Ravi, 19 has pleaded not guilty and had also rejected a plea deal under which he would have avoided jail term but would have had to perform 600 hours of community service and receive counselling. Ravi, who has not been charged with Clementi's death, has insisted that he meant no harm when he spied on his roommate and cannot be blamed for his death. The Indian student faces up to 10 years in state prison if convicted. The case has generated nationwide interest with rights groups expressing concerns over bullying of young men and women for being homosexuals. The trial, taking place in New Jersey near here, is expected to last 3-4 weeks. The testimony of the other man who was with Clementi in his room is being assumed as key in the case. So far, his identity has not been revealed and he has been identified only as by the initials 'M B.' Jury selection in the case was completed earlier this week. Of 185 people who had responded to the court's questionnaires, Superior Court Judge Glenn Berman and the attorneys finalised 16 jurors to decide Ravi's fate. Closing his 30-minute opening statement, Altman said Ravi is "not hateful. He's not a bigot. At 18, he didn't have enough experience in life to know about being gay or homosexuality. When we get done here, you are going to see he might be stupid at times, he is certainly not a criminal." Prosecutors, however, countered saying Ravi acted on purpose and wanted to "brand Tyler as different from everybody else... as gay to set him up for contempt. "The defendant's acts were not a prank, they were not an accident and they were not a mistake," first assistant prosecutor for Middlesex County Julia McClure told the jury in her opening statement. "These acts were purposeful, they were intentional and they were planned. They were mean-spirited, they were malicious, and they were criminal. Those acts were meant to cross one of the most sacred boundaries of human privacy, engaging in private sexual human activity." McClure said Ravi's conduct is not about him having to like his roommate's sexual orientation. "This is about Dharun Ravi having the decency to respect it and to respect Tyler's dignity and privacy and the defendant did not do that." Altman argued that the spying through the webcam lasted just two to five seconds, and it showed nothing more than two men kissing. "Nobody ever broadcast anything. Nobody transmitted anything. Nobody recorded anything. Nobody reproduced any image of anything," Altman said. "Nothing." Altman stressed Ravi never harassed or ridiculed his roommate, and nor did he say "anything bad" about Clementi. He added that Ravi thought Clementi was a "nice guy. He never had a problem with him."
