AGO told to use lawsuit to reopen Tandjung graft case
Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post , Jakarta
The Attorney General's Office (AGO) could use the recent civilian lawsuit, involving an alleged bribery attempt by Golkar leader Akbar Tandjung, to file for judicial review with the Supreme Court, but a legal expert doubted on Saturday that the office would dare to do it.
"There's no precedent for it yet in this country, but it could be done," said Rudy Satrio of the University of Indonesia school of law over the weekend.
He stressed, however, that the Attorney General's Office could use the civil case as fresh evidence to file for judicial review only if the case convincingly proved that bribery caused the prosecutors to "weaken their indictment on Akbar, or it managed to persuade the judges to issue a verdict that was the opposite to what it should have been".
"But I don't think they would dare to do it because it would amount to a humiliation for both institutions," Rudy said.
Kita Irkhamni, a former aide of Attorney General M.A. Rachman, filed a civil suit against Akbar, one of Golkar's presidential hopefuls, last week, accusing him of breaching a verbal agreement to pay him Rp 1 billion (US$114,000) to monitor his corruption case, influence the judges and arrange meetings between the judges and Akbar.
Akbar was found guilty of corruption and sentenced to three years in jail by the Central Jakarta District Court, a verdict upheld by the Jakarta High Court but overturned by the Supreme Court.
Kito alleged that Akbar had failed to fulfill his promise despite his acquittal from charges of misappropriating Rp 40 billion in funds belonging to the State Logistics Agency (Bulog).
According to Rudy, the civil suit could not be considered as fresh evidence for judicial review because it was not an integral part of the graft case.
According to the Criminal Code Procedure, the only party eligible to file for judicial review is the convict or a member of his family, not the prosecutors.
"There was a case in the past in which the Attorney General's Office filed for judicial review, but upon the intervention of the government," Rudy said, referring to the New Order government.
The office is currently seeking possible fresh evidence to file for judicial review with the Supreme Court. A team has been set up for that purpose.
Separately, Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) chairman Taufiqurrohman Ruki said the commission, based on solid evidence, could look only into possible irregularities in the Supreme Court's decision in favor of Akbar.
The KPK, Ruki said, had yet to make a decision following the recent civil suit against Akbar filed by a former aide to Attorney General M.A. Rachman.
Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) has urged the KPK to investigate allegations of bribery by Akbar.
Kito is known as the whistle-blower who revealed to the public information about some property of Rachman that was not declared to the Civil Servants' Wealth Audit Commission (KPKPN).
Rachman was reported by the KPKPN to the police two years ago, but the police have yet to receive permission from President Megawati Soekarnoputri, who leads the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), to question the attorney general.
Several days before he filed his lawsuit against Akbar, Kito withdrew his testimony against Rachman, previously made to the police.