AGO files appeals on controversial rights cases

AGO files appeals on controversial rights cases

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

In a bid to address public concern, the Attorney General's Office
(AGO) has filed appeals to the Supreme Court on the controversial
acquittal of six East Timor rights abuse suspects.

In a hearing with House of Representatives Commission II on
legal affairs on Monday, Attorney General M.A. Rachman said that
the appeals had been submitted to the Supreme Court on Sept. 4.

"We are serious about those appeals; although the public
mocked us, saying that we were playing games, we are not. We are
serious about dealing with these cases," Rachman said.

The acquittal verdicts against five middle-ranking officials
of the police and the military and former East Timor Police chief
Brig. Gen. Timbul Sialen sparked criticism, both from here and
abroad.

Local activists have blamed the Attorney General's Office for
the acquittal, saying state prosecutors failed to build strong
enough cases against those policemen and servicemen suspected of
committing rights violations in East Timor before and after the
territory voted to break away from Indonesia.

A number of international human rights organizations, such as
Amnesty International and the Judicial System Monitoring Program
(JSMP), as well as noted East Timor figures, have even urged the
UN to take over those cases and establish an international
tribunal.

Outgoing UN Human Rights Commissioner Mary Robinson also
floated the idea of an international tribunal to try Indonesian
security personnel suspected of committing human rights
violations in East Timor.

A plan to establish an international tribunal needs the UN
Security Council's approval to materialize.

Rachman, who said that his office fully realized that the
international community was upset at those verdicts, underlined
that the legal process was not over yet.

An official at the prosecutor's office who is handling the
cases said a direct appeal to the Supreme Court, without going
through the lower court of appeal, was warranted in verdicts that
acquitted defendants.

The AGO had also filed an appeal against the ad-hoc tribunal's
verdict that convicted former East Timor governor Abilio Soares
of human rights violations and sent him to three years in
prison.

"In that case we filed an appeal to the High Court as the
sentence is against Law No. 26/2000, which carries a minimum
sentence of 10-years' imprisonment," Rachman said.

In addition, the AGO also filed last week an appeal to the
Supreme Court against the Jakarta High Court's decision that
acquitted central bank Governor Sjahril Sabirin.

Sjahril was sentenced by the Central Jakarta District Court
earlier this year to 18 months in jail for his role in a Rp 904
billion (101.5 million) graft case involving Bank Bali.

The state prosecutors have also appealed to the Jakarta High
Court against the Central Jakarta District Court which failed to
order convicted corruptor Akbar Tandjung to serve his three years
imprisonment.