Experts say Bali bombing confession useless<\/p>\n
Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Two legal experts said on Tuesday that confessions by Bali
\nbombing suspects Amrozi and Imam Samudra, alias Abdul Aziz, could
\nnot be used in a court of law because they made the confessions
\nwithout the benefit of legal counsel, as required by the Criminal
\nCode Procedures (KUHP).<\/p>\n
Rudi Satrio of the University of Indonesia and Ahmad Ali of
\nHasanuddin University in Makassar said that even the recently
\nintroduced terrorist regulation in lieu of law stipulated that a
\nsuspected terrorist had to be accompanied by a lawyer during
\nquestioning.<\/p>\n
\"There is an article in the antiterrorism regulation that
\npoints to the use of KUHP articles unless the regulation says
\notherwise,\" Rudi told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
The KUHP requires a suspect be accompanied by a lawyer when
\nbeing questioned by the police.<\/p>\n
Referring to Article 25 of the government regulation in lieu
\nof law, Rudi said: \"The suspects are supposed to be accompanied
\nby their lawyers from the time they are arrested.\"<\/p>\n
\"Because the police didn't allow defense lawyers to accompany
\nthe suspects, the statements Imam and Amrozi's made without the
\nbenefit of counsel could be thrown out by judges, who could
\ndemand the whole investigation be redone,\" he said.<\/p>\n
According to Rudi, there are two exceptions to this
\nrequirement provided in the antiterrorism ruling: one article
\ngives the police the authority to detain terror suspects for
\nseven days, and the other allows for a six-month detention period
\nfor examination and prosecution.<\/p>\n
\"Under the KUHP, the arrest of a criminal suspect is only
\neffective for 24 hours and the detention period is 60 days,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Ahmad agreed with Rudi, saying defense lawyers could file a
\npretrial motion to have the confessions thrown out by the court.<\/p>\n
He also said the two suspects could file a report with the
\nNational Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) asking the
\ncommission to issue a warning letter to the police.<\/p>\n
\"That's the best thing they can do,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Mahendradata, a member of the Muslim Lawyers Team (TPM) that
\nwill defend the two suspects, agreed with the two legal experts.<\/p>\n
He said the TPM had filed a complaint with the police and
\nwould send an official letter of protest to the court.<\/p>\n
\"We hope the court will throw out the confessions of our
\nclients, who were not accompanied by their defense lawyers when
\nmaking those confessions,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He also said Amrozi and Samudra would be facing multiple
\ncharges, including planning and ordering people to commit an act
\nof terror.<\/p>\n
Article 9 of the government regulation in lieu of law on
\nterrorism stipulates that those who use weapons, ammunition or
\nexplosives to commit an act of terror are eligible for the death
\npenalty.<\/p>\n
And Article 14 states that people who plan or order others to
\ncommit an act of terrorism are eligible for the death sentence.<\/p>\n
Imam, believed to be the mastermind of the bombing in Bali
\nthat killed over 190 people and injured over 300 others, was
\narrested in Banten last week while attempting to board a ferry to
\nPalembang, Sumatra.<\/p>\n
He is in the custody of the National Police in Jakarta, who
\nare investigating allegations the suspect was involved in a
\nseries of bomb attacks on Christmas Eve in 2000.<\/p>\n
Within days, he is expected to be brought to Bali for further
\nquestioning.<\/p>\n
Amrozi, who is suspected of purchasing materials used in the
\nbombs and the van used for the bombing, was detained earlier. He
\nis in the custody of the Bali Police.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the government regulation in lieu of law on
\nterrorism, with its provisions allowing suspects to be detained
\nfor up to six months for investigation, has drawn criticism from
\na number of quarters, particularly human rights activists.<\/p>\n
The activists are concerned the ruling could be used to
\nviolate human rights, as it gives the police a great deal of
\npower in dealing with possible terrorists and terror attacks.<\/p>\n
But supporters of the ruling say it has improved cooperation
\nwith foreign intelligence bodies, helping local police trace
\nsuspects using a combination of human intelligence and
\ntechnology.<\/p>",
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