Lawyer charged with bribery represents client in assault case<\/p>\n
Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Elza Syarief, the controversial lawyer of Hutomo \"Tommy
\nMandala Putra, is back in court, not as a defendant for allegedly
\nbribing witnesses but as a defense lawyer.<\/p>\n
The Association of Indonesian Lawyers (APHI) has criticized
\nthe development as morally wrong.<\/p>\n
Elza is currently acting for David, alias A Miauw, who is
\ncharged with damaging the Tempo office building and the assault
\nof the weekly newsmagazine's journalists.<\/p>\n
APHI head Luhut M.P. Pangaribuan said Elza had the right to
\ncontinue practicing as \"she is innocent until the court says
\notherwise\".<\/p>\n
\"But again, it is a legal justification. In the legal
\nprofession we have morals and ethics we should abide by. Elza
\nshould clear her name first,\" Luhut told The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
He suggested Elza ensure her case goes to trial in the near
\nfuture.<\/p>\n
\"If not, the public will see her as a criminal. Moreover,
\npeople will think that she has made (paid) the prosecutors halt
\nthe case until people forget all about it.\"<\/p>\n
Elza admitted to the Indonesian Advocates and Lawyers
\nAssociation (HAPI) ethics committee in May last year that she
\ngave a total of Rp 5.8 million (US$651) to two witnesses in the
\ncase of Tommy, the youngest son of former president Soeharto.<\/p>\n
The witnesses, Rahmat and Tatang Somantri, were former
\nsecurity guards at the Cemara Apartment in Menteng, Central
\nJakarta, where several unregistered firearms and ammunition
\nbelonging to Tommy was found.<\/p>\n
Tommy was later sentenced to 15 years in jail for murdering a
\nSupreme Court justice, firearms possession and fleeing from
\njustice.<\/p>\n
Rahmat told the Central Jakarta District Court that Elza paid
\nhim Rp 2 million to retract statements to police that implicated
\nTommy and to deny the signature on the statement was his.<\/p>\n
The ethics committee slapped Elza on the hand, only ordering
\nher to cease representing Tommy. It concluded that \"Elza only
\nfollowed her instincts to do her best for her client\".<\/p>\n
The committee's chairman was Yan Apul Girsang, who was also
\nchairman of HAPI's disciplinary council. He was once tried for
\ngiving false information to a notary public in Surabaya. However,
\nhe was acquitted of all charges in 2001.<\/p>\n
Police detained Elza for a month during their investigation
\nand submitted the dossier to the Jakarta prosecutor's office in
\nJune last year.<\/p>\n
Prosecutors said in February that they were ready to take the
\ncase to court but as of today had not done so.<\/p>\n
The office is now saying that Elza is not the prime suspect in
\nthe case.<\/p>\n
\"The case has yet to be submitted to the court, pending the
\n(police) completion of the Rahmat and Tatang dossiers. Both of
\nthem are key to the case because they were the ones who took the
\nmoney and lied to the court,\" a source at the prosecutor's office
\ntold the Post on Wednesday. He claimed that it was a strategy to
\nsecure the case.<\/p>\n
Elza is charged with violating Article 242 of the Criminal
\nCode on giving false testimony under oath as well as Article 2 of
\nLaw No. 11\/1980 on bribery. They carry a maximum penalty of seven
\nyears and five years in prison respectively.<\/p>\n
Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Prasetyo said on Friday
\nthat the investigators were still working on the dossiers on
\nTatang and Rahmat.<\/p>\n
\"Why should the prosecutors wait for the cases of Tatang and
\nRahmat before proceeding with Elza's case? They are separate
\ncases. The prosecutors can't use that as the reason for the
\nsluggish processing of Elza's case,\" he told the Post.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/lawyer-charged-with-bribery-represents-client-in-assault-case-1447893297",
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