High Court's Marsinah case decision not final yet<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): East Java High Court's decision to free
\nbusinessman Judi Susanto, the main defendant in the murder case
\nof labor activist Marsinah, from all charges is not final,
\nobservers said yesterday.<\/p>\n
Prominent legal experts Adi Andojo Soetjipto, Frans Hendra
\nWinarta and Soesanto Bangoennagoro, as well as East Java police
\nChief Maj. Gen. Emon Rivai Arganata agreed that the High Court's
\ndecision could be reviewed by the Supreme Court.<\/p>\n
Businessman Judi Susanto, who was sentenced to 17 years
\nimprisonment by the Surabaya District Court last June, was
\ncleared of all charges of killing labor activist Marsinah by the
\nEast Java High Court on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
According to the High Court's verdict, Judi was freed of all
\ncharges because of a lack of legal reasons to throw him behind
\nbars for the death of the labor activist last year.<\/p>\n
The Surabaya Prosecutor's Office will appeal to the Supreme
\nCourt against the High Court's verdict.<\/p>\n
Judi was accused of masterminding Marsinah's murder and legal
\nobservers argue that his release would mean that the eight people
\nwho had been convicted of killing her will all have to be
\nreleased.<\/p>\n
Activists from the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation have
\ndemanded that the police open a new investigation into the
\nMarsinah affair.<\/p>\n
Deputy Chief Justice for Criminal Cases Adi Andojo Soetjipto
\nsaid that under Indonesian jurisprudence, the public prosecutors
\ncould appeal to the Supreme Court if they were sure they could
\nprove that their previous charges had grounds.<\/p>\n
\"The Indonesian jurisprudence allows the prosecutors to file
\nan appeal within 14 days,\" he told The Jakarta Post yesterday.<\/p>\n
Adi said the High Court's decision shows that the judges at a
\nhigher level did not need to base their decision on a lower
\ncourt's decision.<\/p>\n
\"The high court can investigate the case from the beginning,\"
\nhe said.<\/p>\n
A legislator representing the ruling political grouping
\nGolkar, Soesanto Bangoennagoro, and secretary to the legal aid
\nbody, Frans Hendra Winarta, agreed with Adi's argument.<\/p>\n
\"Let us leave the final decision on the murder case up to the
\nSupreme Court,\" Soesanto said.<\/p>\n
\"We have to respect the prosecutors' rights to appeal to the
\nSupreme Court,\" Frans said.<\/p>\n
Frans regretted that most judges still strictly base their
\ndecisions on the investigators' report and neglect the facts
\nrevealed during the trials.<\/p>\n
\"The judges must be independent in their decisions,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Frans said he wondered whether the prosecutors had strong
\nenough evidence to support their appeal.<\/p>\n
Maj. Gen. Rivai urged the public not to question the High
\nCourt's decision which overruled the verdict of the Surabaya
\nDistrict Court.<\/p>\n
\"The public should be patient because the legal battle is not
\nover yet,\" Emon told Antara.<\/p>\n
He added that the chief of the national police would also
\nappeal to the Supreme Court. The police do not plan to open a new
\ninvestigation into the case as some activists have demanded.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, J.E. Sahetapy, a professor at the School of Law of
\nthe Airlangga University in Surabaya, said the High Court's
\ndecision, which overruled the decision of the lower court, proved
\nthat there were judges who dared to say what they thought was
\nright.<\/p>\n
\"I have noticed that the legal processes from the preliminary
\ninvestigation until the court proceedings were engineered,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
The Marsinah case has been widely reported by both national
\nand international media.<\/p>\n
Marsinah was found dead after leading a workers' strike at PT
\nCatur Putra Surya, a watch-making factory in Sidoarjo, East Java,
\nowned by Judi.<\/p>\n
Marsinah's badly mutilated body was found on May 9, 1993, in
\nan abandoned shack near Nganjuk in East Java. (imn)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/high-courts-marsinah-case-decision-not-final-yet-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}