Ba'asyir gets drug conviction for a day

Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

If it wasn't for the sharp eyes of a clerk at the Jakarta High Court, cleric Abu Bakar Ba'asyir might have a new record: a drug conviction.

"The 'typing error' was corrected on the same day the High Court received the documents relating to Ba'asyir's appeal," Central Jakarta District Court spokesman Andi Samsan Nganro said.

The lower court sentenced Ba'asyir to four years in jail last Tuesday for his involvement in a plot to overthrow the Indonesian government and for an immigration offense.

Maintaining that he is innocent of the charges, Ba'asyir appealed the verdict last Thursday.

However, a court clerk entered information on court documents that stated Ba'asyir had breached drug laws, instead of immigration laws.

Copies of the documents were submitted Friday to the High Court, Salemba Prison where Ba'asyir is being imprisoned and the prosecutor's office.

One of the two court clerks entrusted to type the document admitted that he had made corrected copies the same day and resubmitted them to the High Court and the prison, but only gave the correct one to the prosecutor's office on Monday.

"We were told to rush ... so, as usual, we just 'copy-paste' another document and only eliminate the convict's identities and replace them ...," said Jumari, trying to explain the blunder.

Andi cut him short. "Alright ... don't go into detail .... We admit it was our fault and that we didn't double-check the document before submitting it."