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.