Court turnaround frees Puteh

Court turnaround frees Puteh

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Less than a month after the Anti-Corruption Court rejected a
request from suspended Aceh governor Abdullah Puteh to postpone
his trial, judges decided on Wednesday that Puteh could visit the
disaster-ravaged province for three days to see his family.

The concession was made on three conditions -- a guarantee
Puteh would not attempt to flee police custody, that security was
provided for Puteh while in Aceh, and that his flight was
confirmed for Thursday.

Rudy Satrio, a law expert from the University of Indonesia,
considered the court's decision odd because a denial of Puteh's
request had been issued a few weeks ago.

"Although the power to decide on a postponement is the
authority of the judges, this decision is strange because it
contradicts the earlier decision," Rudy told The Jakarta Post by
telephone.

O.C. Kaligis, one of Puteh's lawyers, and his wife, Linda
Poernomo, have said they would be willing to be his guarantors.
Kaligis had told the judges that five policemen from the Jakarta
Metropolitan Police Force would be asked to escort Puteh to the
province at the defendant's expense.

Rudy said the deferment of custody was justifiable under
Government Decree No.27/1983, Article 35. However, he found it
surprising that Linda and Puteh's lawyers were allowed to serve
as guarantors.

"The defendant's compliance with the law should be guaranteed
by a prominent person, such as a top-ranking government official,
so that if he escapes, that person will be ashamed and suffer
moral sanctions from the public," Rudy said.

The decision was made during the seventh session of the trial
involving the alleged mark-up in the 2002 purchase of a MI-2
Russian helicopter worth US$ 1.25 million by the Aceh provincial
administration.

Puteh had asserted in court that seven members of his family
went missing in the wake of the Dec. 26 earthquake and tsunami
that swept across parts of the province.

The court ruled that Puteh should be allowed to go to Aceh
since the trial schedule would have to be postponed for one week
because the prosecution would be able to produce witnesses only
for Monday's session.

At the same time, one of the judges would not be able to
attend the trial for three of the scheduled sessions next week.

Chief prosecutor Khaidir Ramli objected, saying that there was
no guarantee that the defendant would attend the next session on
time and there was no guarantee about his safety if he visited
Aceh, which for decades had been plagued by fighting between
separatists and the military.

A member of the prosecution team, Wisnu Baroto, said that he
could do nothing to change the decision.

"There have to be guarantees -- personal, in cash and a
security escort -- in order to make sure that the defendant will
attend the next trial on time," he said.

The Puteh trial is seen as a key test case for President
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's campaign to curb the rampant
corruption in the country.