Court: Adiwarsita must remain in jail

Court: Adiwarsita must remain in jail

JAKARTA: The South Jakarta District Court on Tuesday upheld
the detention by prosecutors of two corruption suspects, House of
Representatives member Adiwarsita and his alleged accomplice,
H.A. Fattah.

The detention of the suspects was lawful as it was based on
preliminary investigations into a graft case involving more than
Rp 54.6 billion (US$6.06 million) in reforestation funds, Judge
Edi Joenarso ruled.

In reply, Adnan Buyung Nasution, a lawyer for Adiwarsita and
Fattah, said their clients would appeal to the Supreme Court.

Adwarsita, a House member from the Golkar Party who formerly
chaired the Indonesian Forestry Business Association (APHI), and
his former deputy, Fattah, were detained on Dec. 22, 2004, by the
Attorney General's Office (AGO) for questioning over the case.

The suspects challenged their detention, claiming it was not
well-grounded in law. --Antara