Court rules Ba'asyir's detention legal
Court rules Ba'asyir's detention legal
Damar Harsanto and Emmy Fitri, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
A Jakarta District Court declared as lawful on Monday the
arrest and detention of Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Ba'asyir, a
suspect in a string of bombings in 2000 and a plot to assassinate
then vice president Megawati Soekarnoputri in 1999.
"The court has decided to reject a pretrial lawsuit of Abu
Bakar Ba'asyir and ordered police to continue with the
detention," presiding Judge Tjaroko Imam Widodo said Monday.
Citing Article 21 of the Criminal Code Procedure (KUHAP),
Tjaroko said investigators could arrest and detain Ba'asyir based
on strong evidence of committing a crime coupled with worries
that the suspect could escape, destroy evidence or commit other
crimes.
In addition to bombings and treason, Ba'asyir is also charged
with violating the immigration law and Emergency Law No. 12, 1951
on explosives. If convicted, Ba'asyir could face the death
penalty.
Ba'asyir avoided a nine-year jail sentence for subversion in
1982 by fleeing to Malaysia. In Malaysia, Ba'asyir reportedly
carried a Malaysian ID card and passport.
Judge Tjaroko also ruled that Ba'asyir's arrest and detention
was not against human rights as police had transferred Ba'asyir
from the PKU Muhammadiyah Hospital in Surakarta, Central Java to
the Soekanto Police Hospital in Kramatjati, East Jakarta.
Citing a doctor's recommendation dated Nov. 7, Tjaroko added
that Ba'asyir "is healthy enough" to be detained at National
Police Headquarters.
Meanwhile, Adnan Buyung Nasution, coordinator of Ba'asyir's
lawyers, expressed disappointment over the verdict.
"The verdict simply shows that the court has allowed the
arbitrary measures (conducted by police) to place pressure on our
client. We've decided to appeal to the Supreme Court," said
Adnan.
However, Johnson Panjaitan of the Indonesian Legal Aid and
Human Rights Association, said that Ba'asyir's lawyers had no
legal grounds to appeal.
"According to the KUHAP, someone could not appeal if they lose
in a pretrial lawsuit," Johnson said, referring to Article 83.
Johnson contended that Ba'asyir's lawyers had miscalculated
their strategies.
Shortly after Ba'asyir was taken from the hospital, they asked
for a delay in detention, which amounted to admitting he had been
detained, Johnson said.
Secondly, they filed a pre-trial suit against the police,
which Johnson said was a political move rather than a legal move,
and it had weakened Ba'asyir's case.
As a lawyer, he would have persuaded Ba'asyir to undergo
police questioning. Such a move would have provided a stronger
legal defense.
"In the questioning, it will be clear whether the police have
based the arrest, detention and questioning on strong evidence or
merely on intelligence reports, which can't be used in an
ordinary crime case," Johnson asserted.
Police placed Ba'asyir under detention on Nov. 2. However,
Ba'asyir has demanded police bring in terror suspect Omar al-
Faruq from Afghanistan, were he is in the custody of U.S. forces,
and suspend his detention as conditions for his cooperation.
Police arrested Ba'asyir after al-Faruq, an alleged al-Qaeda
operative, implicated him in terrorist operations in Indonesia.
Meanwhile, police said they would complete the investigation
before Nov. 21.
"According to our plan, we will send the (completed) dossiers
of Ba'asyir to the prosecutors before Nov. 21," Prasetyo said.
Referring to the ruling in the Criminal Code Procedure,
Prasetyo said police could detain Ba'asyir for a maximum 20 days.
The detention period expires on Nov. 21.
However, Prasetyo said that should the investigators fail to
complete the dossiers prior to the deadline, they could seek a
40-day extension of the detention period, as stipulated in
Article 24 (2) of the code.
Another Ba'asyir lawyer, Mahendradatta, challenged the police
to submit the dossiers.
"We challenge them (police) to submit the dossiers to the
prosecutors. There is no need to wait for the Bali
(investigation)."
Mahendradatta said his team had anticipated police would
attempt to link Ba'asyir with the recent bombings on the resort
island.