Activists deplore light sentences in drug cases

Activists deplore light sentences in drug cases

Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Medan

Law enforcers in North Sumatra have failed to uphold the law in
the fight against the use and sale of illicit drugs, with a
number of controversial verdicts handed down by judges trying
drugs cases here lately, a legal activist said on Wednesday.

The secretary-general of the Anti-Drug Movement (GAN),
Zulkarnaen Nasution, said the judges had lost their sense of
justice with their failure to punish the violators accordingly.

He cited a verdict issued on Tuesday by a panel of judges of
the Medan District Court, led by Anwar Zahri, which sentenced Lim
Bun Pin, alias Apin, to one year in prison for possessing 21,787
ecstasy pills. Previously, the prosecutors had demanded the death
sentence.

A week ago, another panel of judges from the same district
court sentenced Joseph Karanja Kamu from Kenya to 15 years in
jail for brokering a heroin transaction involving 800.15
kilograms. The prosecutors had also demanded the death penalty.

"These light sentences will not deter drug dealers and users
from repeating their offenses, but will instead encourage them to
do more," Nasution told The Jakarta Post.

Data from the North Sumatra provincial administration shows
that there are 1,174 suspects in drug-related offenses for this
year alone, 18 of whom are women.

Nasution said poor performance by law enforcers in North
Sumatra was not only dominated by judges as some police officers,
prosecutors and prison guards were also involved.

"All of this proves that law enforcement against the illegal
sale and abuse of drugs in North Sumatra has failed," he said.

He cited the ongoing trial of Adj. Comr. Bakhtiar Sitinjak, an
officer with the Medan Police Cadet School, who is facing the
death penalty for his role in trafficking drugs as an example.

Lawyer Wanrinson Sinaga said the judges' controversial
verdicts have had a negative impact on the image of Indonesia's
judiciary.

"If the judges think that the defendants are not guilty, they
should just drop all charges and not give them light sentences,"
he said.

The head of the Medan District Court, Soltony Mohdali,
however, declined to comment on the judges' controversial
verdicts, saying that journalists should directly ask the judges
themselves.

"I cannot justify whether the verdicts were controversial or
not because they were made on the judges' consideration. So you
should ask them directly," Soltony said.