District court to go hi-tech

District court to go hi-tech

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Central Jakarta District Court plans to go high-tech in the
trial of former chief of the State Logistics Agency (Bulog) as it
decided on Tuesday to hear the testimony of former president B.J.
Habibie via videoconferencing.

If the plan materializes, it will be the first time an
Indonesian court has employed the technology.

Rahardi, who is accused of manipulating Rp 62.9 billion (about
US$6.7 million) of Bulog non-budgetary funds, is a lecturer at
the Surabaya Institute of Technology, while Habibie, who
currently lives in Germany, is a former minister of research and
technology.

Prosecutor Kemas Yahya Rahman had earlier suggested that
Habibie's case files be read, but presiding judge Lalu Mariyun
insisted that Habibie's testimony be heard live "to reveal to the
public the facts about the case thoroughly."

The videoconferencing idea was supported by Rahardi's lawyers,
but Kemas said that the Attorney General's Office could not
afford to conduct a videoconference.

"Well, prosecutors could afford the questioning in Germany. It
means the Attorney General's Office has the funds, maybe some of
it is still left," Lalu said.

Last December, two prosecutors questioned Habibie in Hamburg.

Lalu suggested that prosecutors ask for assistance from the
University of Indonesia to conduct the hearing.

"I talked to Professor Erman Radjaguguk (the head of the
university post-graduate program) last week. He welcomed my idea
and said that the university has the equipment (to conduct the
videoconference)," he said.

Lalu said even though the Criminal Law Procedures Code does
not mention videoconferencing, it does not mean that such
testimony is not accepted.

"I will give you time to arrange the videoconference,
meanwhile we will continue the hearing by presenting other
witnesses," he told the prosecutor.

In 1998, independent counsel Kenneth Starr was able to present
then president of the United States Bill Clinton to testify
before the grand jury investigating his relationship with Monica
Lewinsky through a videoconference.