Convicted felon in Marsinah's murder gets reprieve

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)