Legal circles differ on Tommy case<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesian legal circles differ in their views
\non the legal status of former president Soeharto's youngest son
\nHutomo \"Tommy\" Mandala Putra, following a Supreme Court verdict
\nin September that sentenced him to 18 months in jail over an
\nunlawful land exchange deal in 1995.<\/p>\n
South Jakarta Prosecutor's Office head Antasari Azhar said on
\nTuesday that he would execute the verdict within the next two
\ndays, stressing that Tommy's latest motion for a review of the
\nSupreme Court's ruling automatically nullified the postponement
\nof execution granted earlier after Tommy had submitted a request
\nfor a presidential pardon.<\/p>\n
\"I will give Tommy two days to appear at the prosecutor's
\noffice prior to execution. If he fails to meet the summons, there
\nwill be no second summons,\" he told journalists at his office,
\nwhile announcing that Tommy had received the summons earlier in
\nthe day.<\/p>\n
Antasari based his opinion on Paragraph 1 of Article 268 of
\nthe Criminal Code Procedures (KUHAP), which stipulates that an
\nappeal for a review of a ruling does not postpone the execution
\nof the ruling.<\/p>\n
\"The request for a presidential pardon has delayed the
\nexecution, but his latest motion then nullified the
\npostponement,\" he said.<\/p>\n
However, President of the South Jakarta District Court Lalu
\nMariyun said the prosecutors could not execute the Supreme
\nCourt's verdict, unless Tommy's defense lawyers canceled the
\nappeal for pardon from President Abdurrahman Wahid which had
\nearlier been submitted.<\/p>\n
The Law on Clemency states that a convict is granted a
\npostponement of his\/her sentence pending the President's decision
\nover his\/her appeal for a presidential pardon.<\/p>\n
\"The verdict can only be executed after the President issues a
\ndecree in response to the appeal,\" Mariyun told journalists
\nearlier in the day.<\/p>\n
\"The delay in execution is valid until the President issues
\nthe decree on his appeal,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Mariyun based his argument on the Supreme Court Guidelines for
\nCourt Proceedings which state that a motion for a review of the
\ncase could only be processed by the district court after the
\nissuing of a presidential decree on the request for a pardon.<\/p>\n
\"Point 157 of the Supreme Court guidelines stipulates that a
\nconvict may request a presidential pardon in an attempt to avoid
\nexecution (of the verdict) and can file a motion for a review of
\nhis or her case afterwards,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Mariyun also said that the district court had established a
\nthree-member panel of judges -- Soedarto, I Gde Putra Jadnya and
\nNur Hisbach -- to decide on Tommy's petition for a review of his
\ncase. The initial hearing is slated for Nov. 8.<\/p>\n
Tommy requested pardon from President Abdurrahman Wahid on
\nOct. 3 following the Supreme Court's ruling of Sept. 22 which
\nsentenced him to 18 months in jail and ordered him to reimburse
\nRp 30.7 trillion (US$3.34 million) of state losses resulting from
\nthe 1995 land exchange deal between wholesaler PT Goro Batara
\nSakti and the State Logistics Agency.<\/p>\n
Following the request for a pardon, Tommy's defense team filed
\na motion for a review of the verdict with the South Jakarta
\nDistrict Court on Monday, claiming that their client was innocent
\nand errors in law on the part of the justices issuing the
\nverdict.<\/p>\n
Separately, Minister of Justice and Human Rights Yusril Ihza
\nMahendra said that he had received Tommy's petition for a
\npresidential pardon from the Supreme Court on Tuesday afternoon,
\nalong with the one filed by Tommy's business associate Ricardo
\nGelael.<\/p>\n
\"I will study the case briefs and give my opinions on both
\npetitions before handing them over to the President,\" he told
\njournalists. (bby)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/legal-circles-differ-on-tommy-case-1447893297",
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