Acquitted defendants cannot face trial again
JAKARTA (JP): The people acquitted of the murder of labor activist Marsinah cannot be tried again on the same charges, a senior justice official said yesterday.
"The nine convicts, who have been exonerated, cannot be brought to trial on the same charges," Deputy Chief Justice for Criminal Affairs Adi Andojo Soetjipto said.
The nine, the director and employees of a watch company in Surabaya, were convicted by a lower court in East Java of involvement in Marsinah's murder in 1993.
Marsinah was found dead after leading a strike at PT Catur Putra Surya. Her mutilated body was found on May 9, 1993, in an abandoned shack near Nganjuk in East Java.
Adi, who presided over the appeal trial, said one reason the Supreme Court released them was that the witnesses gave conflicting testimonies.
The director of the company, Judi Susanto, was charged with masterminding the murder but was released last November immediately after the East Java High Court found him not guilty. He had earlier been sentenced to 17 years, the stiffest jail term handed down in the case.
Mutiari, secretary to the company who had been sentenced to seven months in prison by the Sidoarjo District Court for allegedly being an accessory to the murder was also acquitted by the High Court. She was released from Medaeng prison in August last year because she had completed her six-month jail term.
The other seven people, who were released by the Supreme Court early last month, were all employees of the company. Yudi Astono had been sentenced to four years, Bambang Wuryantoyo to 12 years, Widayat to 12 years, A.S. Prayogi to 12 years, Karyono Wongso to 13 years, Soewono to 12 years and Soeprapto to 12 years.
East Java Military Commander Maj. Gen. Imam Utomo said early last month that the nine's release didn't mean the murder case was closed.
"We will not freeze the case. We are trying to find the real murderers by re-investigating the acquitted defendants or by finding new suspects," he was quoted by Antara as saying.
Adi said that the Supreme Court's investigation only verified that standard procedures during the preliminary investigation and in the lower court were violated.
"Judges in the lower courts made mistakes when making their decisions," he said, adding that this was common.
Such "careless" verdicts will force higher courts to release the defendant although he is in fact the murderer, he asserted.
He said he is certain the East Java investigators tortured the defendants during the investigation, which resulted in the defendants's contradicting their previous testimonies. (imn)