Court to decide on Akbar soon

Court to decide on Akbar soon

JAKARTA: The Supreme Court expects to deliver its much-awaited decision at the end of this month on the appeal by House Speaker Akbar Tandjung against his conviction on graft charges.

Justice Abdurrahman Saleh, a member of the panel of judges hearing the case, said on Friday that the panel would hold discussions before regrouping for a final decision.

"Hopefully at the end of January," he told reporters when asked when the court's decision would be handed down.

Abdurrahman is the most recently appointed member of the five- member judicial panel examining the high-profile appeal. He joined the panel after a former member, Laica Marzuki, was elected the deputy president of the newly-established Constitutional Court.

"Why don't people treat Akbar like other (appellants). We get the impression that people are trying to interfere in the working of the court by decide his case quickly," he told reporters.

Chief Justice Bagir Manan had previously said that the court expected to hand down its decision on the Akbar case in August or September of last year.

Akbar, who is also the chairman of the Golkar Party, was sentenced to three years in jail for embezzling Rp 40 billion in State Logistics Agency funds, and his conviction was upheld on appeal to the high court. He remains free pending the decision of the Supreme Court.

According to the law, the Supreme Court has no obligation to make public the detailed grounds on which it bases its decisions. -- JP