Antigraft team vow for justices' prosecution

JAKARTA (JP): On the verge of completing its work, the Joint Anticorruption Team (TGPTPK) pledged to make the best use of its remaining days to bring at least three cases to trial, including the alleged bribery of three serving and retiring Supreme Court justices.

TGPTPK chairman Krisantono said on Thursday that the team is focused on investigating six cases, but only half of them are ready for prosecution.

"By the end of this month we will bring three cases to court, all of them involving corruption in judicial bodies," he told a media conference.

The Supreme Court on March 23 annulled the regulation that became the legal basis for the establishment of the anticorruption team, and gave less than three months for the team's dissolution.

Krisantono said on Thursday that the six cases handled by his team involved former justice Yahya M. Harahap and two service justices Supraptini Sutarto and Marnis Kahar. The other suspects are the Supreme Court director of the state administrative court Zainal Agus and the court's clerk Zendrato.

He said that the Supreme Court's decision on March 23 was an obvious indication of its efforts to hamper the team's work.

"On June 8, we'll no longer have any legal basis for continuing unless the government replaces the revoked regulation," he added.

Krisantono said that the March 23 decision was itself questionable.

The Supreme Court reviewed the government regulation in lieu of law No. 19 dated April 2000 upon the request of Yahya Harahap's lawyers. Yayha was allegedly involved in a Rp 196 million (US$19,600) bribery. The judicial review decision was handed down by a panel of justices presided over by Paulus E. Lotulung, who was one of Yahya's legal advisers.

"Moreover, the legal grounds for the Supreme Court to conduct a judicial review are based merely on an internal regulation, the power of which is far below that of the revoked government regulation," he said.

Anticorruption team member Iskandar Sonhadji added that the Supreme Court's considerations on the decision failed to show if the regulation contradicted the 1999 Anticorruption Law that provided the basis for establishing the team.

Krisantono said that although the Vice Supreme Court Chief justice Taufiq had given the public a chance to file an objection over the revocation of the regulation, it would not change the decision.

"Taufiq's offer is only a token one, since nothing can be done to change the result of a judicial review. We think judicial review had been used by the Supreme Court as a mechanism to protect its interest," he said.

The joint team, which started its work in May last year, has made it a priority to eradicate graft within the judicial system, including the Supreme Court and district courts.

Last year, following the team's disclosure that it was investigating the bribery case in the Supreme Court, two of the three suspects, Supraptini and Marnis, reported the then team chairman Adi Andojo Soetjipto and a witness in the case, Endin Wahyudin, to the police for slander.

The trial against Endin is scheduled to begin at the Central Jakarta District Court on April 23.

Krisantono said the team had initially asked the Jakarta Prosecutors' Office to halt the prosecution of Endin, pending completion of the legal process against Supraptini and Marnis.

"There must be something wrong with the prosecutors. I think such ignorance is just one of the systematic obstacles put before us," he added.

Judicial Watch also commented that Endin's trial should be put off until the district court hands down its verdict on the two bribery suspects.

"Endin's trial reflects the weak commitment of the judicial bodies in the effort to establish a clean and fair judicial process..", coordinator of Judicial Watch, A, Muhammad Asrun, said.

He also called upon the Attorney General to provide immunity from prosecution for any witness who reported corruption, collusion or nepotism. (bby)