Gus Dur grilled over allegations of extortion<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Police interrogation of Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra was
\novershadowed on Friday by the questioning of Abdurrahman "Gus
\nDur" Wahid, following Tommy's claims that he fell victim to an
\nextortion scheme to win himself a pardon from the former
\npresident.<\/p>\n
Gus Dur was questioned as a witness about the suspects, Raden
\nDodi Sumadi and Abdullah Sidiq Muin, who allegedly brought Tommy
\nand Gus Dur together to discuss a possible presidential pardon.<\/p>\n
Dodi remains at large.<\/p>\n
Gus Dur arrived at 9:40 a.m., accompanied by his lawyer, Luhut
\nPangaribuan, and former spokesman Adhie Massardi.<\/p>\n
He told reporters after the two-hour examination that he was
\nwas questioned by the police over his presence two years ago at
\nthe Borobudur Hotel and the Regent Hotel, where he was believed
\nto have met Tommy for the purpose of striking a deal on his case.<\/p>\n
He admitted meeting Tommy, but denied ever making any deal.<\/p>\n
"I told the investigator that I knew nothing about a deal," he
\nsaid. "I did not want to interfere with the Supreme Court's
\nruling on Tommy's verdict at that time."<\/p>\n
In 1999, the South Jakarta District Court exonerated Tommy, a
\ndefendant in a corruption case, of all charges, but the Supreme
\nCourt sentenced him to 18 months.<\/p>\n
Gus Dur later turned down Tommy's request for presidential
\npardon. Shortly after that, Tommy was on the run, until he was
\narrested in late November last year.<\/p>\n
Tommy is now a suspect of the murder of M. Syaifuddin
\nKartasasmita, head of the panel of the Supreme Court justices who
\nfound Tommy guilty. Kartasasmita was shot dead on July 26, 2001,
\nwhile driving his car on his way to work.<\/p>\n
Three people are being tried for their part in the murder,
\nwhile Tommy, who has been named a suspect, has not been
\nprosecuted.<\/p>\n
While he was being interrogated by the police, Tommy's lawyer,
\nElza Syarief, alleged that the Puan Amal Foundation, chaired by
\nGus Dur's wife Sinta Nuriyah received Rp 5 billion, which he paid
\nas a bribe to win the presidential pardon for his client.<\/p>\n
The police questioned Gus Dur's family, but never charged
\nTommy with bribery.<\/p>\n
Gus Dur said he never knew Raden Dodi Sumadi, but admitted
\nthat he knew Abdullah Sidiq, also known as Kiai Sidiq, the leader
\nof the Attauhid Islamic boarding school in Kediri.<\/p>\n
According to Luhut, his client was questioned about the
\nmeeting at the two hotels and handing out the money amounting to
\nUS$1,700,000, and Rp 5 billion which was claimed by Tommy to be
\ntransferred to Dodi and Sidiq.<\/p>\n
Luhut said that the meetings were attended by Siti Hardiyanti
\nRukmana, Tommy's elder sister, Tommy and Gus Dur, but not Dodi.<\/p>\n
The lawyer believed that Tommy's complaints of extortion was
\nan attempt to distract the public from his own case.<\/p>\n
"There's an indication of the distraction -- currently, the
\nattention of press has moved from Tommy's case to Gus Dur," he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
At 11:15 a.m., Gus Dur's eldest daughter, Alissa Qottrunada
\nMunawaroh, also arrived at the city police headquarters for
\nquestioning. However, she refused comment.<\/p>\n
On Tuesday, Sinta Nuriah told reporters after being questioned
\nby police officials that neither she, nor her foundation, ever
\nreceived money from Dodi.<\/p>\n
She threatened to sue Tommy's lawyer and the former city
\npolice chief, Sofjan Jacoeb, over the accusations which, she
\nsaid, had tarnished the reputation of her family and her
\nfoundation.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/gus-dur-grilled-over-allegations-of-extortion-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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