Convicted felon in Marsinah's murder gets reprieve

JAKARTA (JP): A woman who was convicted for taking part in the murder of labor activist Marsinah was freed only a few days before she was due to complete her seven month sentence.

Mutiari left the Sidoarjo prison on Tuesday after the Council of Judges at the High Court overturned the court's decision to extend her detention pending the outcome of her appeal.

Mutiari was a personnel manager of PT Citra Putra Surya, the watch company in Sidoarjo where Marsinah worked. She was originally found guilty by the Sidoarjo district court as an accomplice in the Marsinah murder in May of last year.

She has maintained her innocence from the very beginning and, after she was convicted, vowed to appeal her case to the Supreme Court if necessary.

She was arrested in October along with eight other executives and staff of the company. Mutiari was the first defendant and the only one to be convicted so far.

If the High Court upholds the district court's verdict, Mutiari would have been freed in any case on May 2.

But her lawyers insisted that the High Court does not extend her detention period.

She was picked up by her husband Hari Sarwono on Tuesday and was reported to have gone to Tulungagung, his parents' home.

The court based its decision on Article 21 of the Criminal Code Procedures, which stipulates that only a defendant whose case in being considered at a higher court and who is facing a possible sentence of five years may be detained.

On April 2 the Surabaya High Court extended her detention period by another 51 days following her decision to appeal on the Sidoarjo District Court's March 10 verdict.

Mutiari's release came as a surprise to her family and lawyers, Richard Wahyudi and I Wayan Titip Sulaksono, because only days earlier they were notified of the extension of her detainment.

Mutiari was "abducted" from her workplace in October last year. The officers who made the arrest did not have a warrant and on Oct. 8 her husband reported her disappearance to the police.

Her husband, who is a lawyer, made a case against the police for the illegal arrest, but the case was killed when the Sidoarjo District Court, led by judge Djohan Bernard Simatupang, started her trial proceedings on Nov. 3.

At the beginning of her trial, six of her fellow workers who are also tried for the case testified against her. They told the court that they witnessed and together with Mutiari attended the meetings which planned Marsinah's murder.

However, when the six witnesses started their own trials, they all disavowed their incriminating testimony, saying that they had been subjected to torture to force their confessions during their interrogations. They also denied all the charges of conspiracy in the murder.

Mutiari's lawyers had asked the panel of judges to re-examine the witness, but the request was turned down. In protest of the decision, the lawyers, Richard Wahyudi and I Wayan Titip Sulaksana left the court room.

The statements of the witnesses and defendants have drawn the attention of the public, who have urged the authorities to re- examine the case. The National Commission on Human Rights also paid special attention to the proceedings after the defendants reported acts of torture during their questioning. (lem)