Soedjono denies claim on foreign lawyer<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Attorney General Soedjono C. Atmonegoro claimed
\nyesterday that a relatively unknown local by the name of Yohanes
\nYacob had been hired as former president Soeharto's lawyer and
\nthat he had not appointed any foreign attorneys.<\/p>\n
However serious questions remain about Yohanes' legal
\ncredentials after a background check revealed that his name was
\nalmost unknown in legal circles.<\/p>\n
Soedjono made his statement in an apparent attempt to correct
\nsome media reports that he had met foreign lawyers hired by
\nSoeharto.<\/p>\n
The spokesman for the Attorney General's Office, Barman Zahir,
\ntold The Jakarta Post that he was summoned by Soedjono yesterday
\nmorning and revealed Yohanes' name to prove his argument.<\/p>\n
"Please notify the media to correct their reports saying that
\nSoeharto has hired a foreign lawyer. He is not a foreigner, he is
\nIndonesian," Soedjono was quoted by Barman as saying.<\/p>\n
According to Barman, Soedjono did not give any details about
\nYohanes.<\/p>\n
Soedjono himself was not available for comment.<\/p>\n
The revelation came as a surprise to many as Yohanes' name is
\nunheard of among prominent legal practitioners.<\/p>\n
Attempts to track Yohanes down also proved almost fruitless as
\nfew people had heard of him. Many even raised serious doubts as
\nto his true identity.<\/p>\n
The chairmen of all three lawyer's organizations, Haryono
\nTjitrosoebono of the Indonesian Bar Association (IKADIN), Yan
\nApul from the Indonesian Advocates Association (AAI) and Yan
\nJuanda Saputra from the Association of Indonesian Lawyers (IPHI)
\nall told the Post that they had not heard of Yohanes.<\/p>\n
"I can assure you that his name is not on IKADIN's list,"
\nHaryono said.<\/p>\n
Juanda Saputra however said that friends in the Attorney
\nGeneral's Office had told him that Yohanes is the chairman of a
\nlittle known legal aid office in Tebet, South Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Soedjono admitted Thursday that he had met lawyers
\nrepresenting Soeharto. At the time he rushed off and refused to
\ngive further details.<\/p>\n
Demonstrators and opposition leaders have been demanding that
\nan investigation be conducted into whether Soeharto and his
\nfamily accumulated wealth illegally while he was in power.<\/p>\n
Separately yesterday, Armed Forces spokesman Brig. Gen. A.
\nWahab Mokodongan said he was not adverse to an investigation by
\nthe Attorney General's office into corruption under Soeharto.<\/p>\n
"ABRI is part of the government. And the authority to conduct
\nthe investigation is the Attorney General's office," he told
\nreporters. (byg\/imn)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/soedjono-denies-claim-on-foreign-lawyer-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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