Court decides Syahril's graft trial to continue
Court decides Syahril's graft trial to continue
JAKARTA (JP): The Central Jakarta District Court decided on
Thursday to continue the graft trial of Bank Indonesia (BI)
governor Syahril Sabirin, citing juridical pertinence.
Soebardi, who presided over the hearing, said the panel of
judges had found the prosecutors' indictment clear enough to
proceed with the trial.
"We just looked at the elements in the prosecutors' indictment
which fulfill juridical requirements. That's why the trial must
be continued," Soebardi told the court.
The panel of judges also dismissed arguments of the defending
lawyers' who questioned the court's authority to try the case,
based on the defendant's denial that he was present in a Feb. 11,
1999 meeting at Hotel Mulia in South Jakarta.
State prosecutors charged that the alleged crime was planned
at Syahril's office in Central Jakarta.
Syahril is implicated in the disbursement of Rp 904 billion
(US$96.2 million) of Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA)
funds to Bank Bali. The crime violates Article 1 of the No.
3/1971 Law on Corruption, which carries a maximum punishment of
life imprisonment.
"If the defendant denied his presence at Hotel Mulia in the
Feb. 11, 1999 meeting with Djoko S. Tjandra and Pande N. Lubis to
discuss the plan to disburse the IBRA money to Bank Bali, it
means that prosecutors assertion was correct," Soebardi said on
Thursday.
During the hearing Syahril denied the charges, saying that he
had revealed the facts related to the charges.
"So if the charges are maintained, I think all people can see
who's behind this groundless indictment," he said in his 18-page
defense.
Syahril, who stared seriously at the judges who took turns in
reading the ruling, looked calm during the hearing.
Muhammad Assegaf, who leads Syahril's team of seven lawyers,
also alleged that the case was not purely a legal matter, but
politically motivated. He said the trial came amid President
Abdurrahman Wahid's wish to oust Syahril as the central bank
governor.
According to Assegaf, a recorded conversation between Syahril
Sabirin and Attorney General Marzuki Darusman had obviously
proven that the President had put pressure on the Attorney
General to force Syahril to step down.
One of the judges, Asep Irawan, denied the allegation.
"There is no pressure or intervention at all. If the executive
tries to intervene in the independence of the court, I will quit
the case," he said.
The session was adjourned until next Wednesday to hear
witnesses' testimonies. (01)