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.