Soeharto fit for trial: Marzuki<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Former president Soeharto is fit to face trial
\nover charges of corruption, Attorney General Marzuki Darusman
\nsaid on Monday.<\/p>\n
"A comprehensive medical examination on Pak Harto one month
\nago has again proved that he is fit to undergo questioning,"
\nMarzuki told reporters after meeting President Abdurrahman Wahid
\nat Bina Graha presidential office.<\/p>\n
"So this should serve as further support for past medical
\nexaminations (on Soeharto). The Attorney General's Office has
\nquestioned Soeharto for months without obstacles in respect to
\nhis health," he added.<\/p>\n
Soeharto's lawyers have repeatedly claimed that their client
\nis too ill to face trial because he cannot remember past events
\nand is suffering from brain damage.<\/p>\n
Marzuki announced last week that prosecutors were ready to
\nfile charges against the former ruler for allegedly misusing some
\nRp 1.4 trillion and US$416 million of state funds donated to his
\nseven tax-free charitable foundations.<\/p>\n
Soeharto's lawyers accused the government, however, of timing
\nthe announcement to deflect attention from Abdurrahman's
\nappearance before the People's Consultative Assembly next week,
\nwhere he is expected to face a tough time as he accounts for his
\nstormy 10 months in power.<\/p>\n
Marzuki said on Monday that the date of the trial would be
\ndecided by the court. He had said previously that the trial would
\nbegin before Aug. 10.<\/p>\n
Prosecutors said last week they would file the charges with
\nthe South Jakarta District Court.<\/p>\n
Later in the day, spokesman for the Attorney General's Office
\nYushar Yahya said that a thorough study of the 3,500 page
\ndossier, which is now in the hands of the Jakarta prosecutor's
\noffice, had already been completed.<\/p>\n
He said the next step would be to hand over the suspect and
\nevidence to the prosecutor's office.<\/p>\n
One of the investigators, Suriansjah, told reporters on Monday
\nthat the handover would be carried out later this week.<\/p>\n
Marzuki's decision not to prosecute Soeharto as a former
\npresident but rather as the chairman of the foundations has been
\ngreeted with skepticism, with observers saying that the
\nindictment is not tough enough.<\/p>\n
But Marzuki said he had concentrated on the foundations
\nbecause he wanted a watertight case against Soeharto, who stepped
\ndown as president in 1998 amid mass protests.<\/p>\n
Abdurrahman has repeatedly said he would pardon Soeharto if he
\nwas found guilty. But the President has insisted a trial must go
\nahead.<\/p>\n
Despite allegations that Soeharto is sitting on a fortune
\nworth billions of dollars, stashed overseas, the government has
\nnot yet been able to find any evidence to prove the offshore
\naccounts exist.<\/p>\n
Protesting students have demanded Soeharto be charged with
\npower abuse and human rights violations rampant during his 32
\nyears of rule.(bby\/byg\/prb)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/soeharto-fit-for-trial-marzuki-1447893297",
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