Court refuses to reopen Soeharto graft trial<\/p>\n
Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The South Jakarta District Court turned down on Thursday an
\napplication by state prosecutors to resume graft proceedings
\nagainst former president Soeharto, arguing that he was still too
\nill to stand trial.<\/p>\n
In a letter to the Jakarta Prosecutor's Office, a copy of
\nwhich was made available to reporters, the court's president Lalu
\nMariyun cited the latest medical report, saying there was no hope
\nthat Soeharto would recover.<\/p>\n
\"The court will only resume the trial if prosecutors can
\nproduce the defendant for the hearing in good health,\" Lalu
\nMariyun said in the letter, dated March 8.<\/p>\n
In a surprise move, the Jakarta Prosecutor's Office last week
\nwrote to the court requesting that the trial be reopened.<\/p>\n
The trial on charges relating to US$571 million allegedly
\ncorruptly amassed by Soeharto was recessed in September 2000,
\nafter the court heard arguments from a medical team that the
\nformer president was mentally and physically unfit to stand
\ntrial.<\/p>\n
Then in February 2001, the Supreme Court ordered state
\nprosecutors to seek medical treatment for Soeharto, and then
\nafter he recovered, the prosecutors should bring him to trial.<\/p>\n
However, the state appointed team of doctors concluded that
\nthe defendant's old age, worsening memory problems, and incurable
\nheart problem held out no hope of recovery based on the kind of
\nmedical treatment that was currently available.<\/p>\n
The Supreme Court decided in December 2001 that state
\nprosecutors had the right to request the resumption of Soeharto's
\ngraft trial.<\/p>\n
Lalu Mariyun said in his letter that even if the district
\ncourt rejected the reopening of Soeharto's trial, prosecutors
\ncould later request the court to reopen it as long as they could
\nbring the defendant before the judges in good health.<\/p>\n
\"The court is open to receiving the case on Soeharto from the
\nprosecutors in the future, if the defendant has recovered,\" Lalu
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
In line with the decision, the court also returned Soeharto's
\ncase file to the Jakarta Prosecutor's Office.<\/p>\n
Attorney General's Office spokesman Barman Zahir said that the
\ncourt's decision had been made in a \"rush\" and that prosecutors
\nhad expected that the court would reopen the trial, even if only
\nto hear the latest report on Soeharto's state of health.<\/p>\n
\"The court should hold another hearing to listen to the
\nmedical report. Based on this the judges can declare that there
\nis no hope of Soeharto's recovery and then make a final decision
\nas to whether the trial should be halted altogether,\" he told
\nreporters.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/court-refuses-to-reopen-soeharto-graft-trial-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}