'Courts can sentence rapists to death'<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Justice Bismar Siregar says ordinary courts can
\nsentence rapists to death by applying Islamic law, even though
\nthe Indonesian criminal code prescribes a maximum penalty of only
\n12 years imprisonment for the crime.<\/p>\n
The justice, who is often noted for his controversial ideas,
\nsaid yesterday that the Indonesian legal system recognizes
\nreligious injunctions as one of its chief sources of law.<\/p>\n
Given that Islam prescribes capital punishment for rapists,
\njudges in ordinary courts could use Islamic law to pass the death
\nsentence on men convicted of rape, he told Antara.<\/p>\n
\"The spirit of religion should inspire the formal laws, and
\nthis is also recognized by (the state ideology) Pancasila as the
\nsource of all laws,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Bismar was one of several prominent figures who have suggested
\nthat the youths who gang-raped a woman and her two teenage
\ndaughters in Bekasi last month be sentenced to death.<\/p>\n
Eleven young men are currently in police custody charged with
\nperpetrating the crime. Their trial was delayed because of a pre-
\ntrial suit filed by their lawyers against the police for false
\narrest. That suit was dropped after the defense lawyers were
\nbeaten by a mob at the court.<\/p>\n
According to Bismar, the principles of all religious laws
\ncould be applied in ordinary courts of law because all verdicts
\nare preceded by the sentence \"in the name of justice and God
\nAlmighty.\" This, he added, meant that religious principles are
\ntaken into consideration in reaching the verdict.<\/p>\n
While Islam does not specifically state that rapists should be
\nsentenced to death, Bismar pointed out that in Islamic teachings
\n\"even adultery is punishable by death.\"<\/p>\n
He said that he did not mean that Islamic law should be used
\nnationally in judging crimes. \"The point is that religious
\nprinciples inspire our formal laws,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Bismar lamented the fact that very few judges in Indonesia
\nhave taken religious laws into consideration in reaching their
\nverdicts.<\/p>\n
They do not feel obliged to use them as the sources of the
\nlaws, he said. \"I guess it's not easy, because it depends on the
\nconscience of each judge.\"<\/p>\n
During his days as a sitting judge, Bismar often applied
\nreligious laws, both Islamic and Christian, depending on the
\nreligion of the person being tried, he said.<\/p>\n
\"Christian people in Indonesia should not feel apprehension
\nbecause Islam does not require that non-Moslems must be tried
\nunder Islamic laws, even though the judge may be a Moslem,\" he
\nsaid. (emb)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/courts-can-sentence-rapists-to-death-1447893297",
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