Antigraft team vow for justices' prosecution

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)