AGO told to use lawsuit to reopen Tandjung graft case

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.