Dutch ambassador doubts pilot will be extradited
Dutch ambassador doubts pilot will be extradited
JAKARTA (JP): Dutch Ambassador to Indonesia Paul Reitze
Brouwer hinted yesterday that Holland may not extradite the
Indonesian pilot who was arrested at Schiphol airport late last
month for allegedly trying to smuggle 8,000 Ecstasy pills.
"There's no extradition treaty between the Netherlands and
Indonesia," Brouwer told a press conference.
Moreover, he said, distributing and possessing Ecstasy pills
is a crime in the Netherlands, and the crime happened in The
Hague.
Shortly after pilot Mohammad Said was arrested with 8,000
Ecstasy pills inside his vest at Schipol airport on Sept. 29,
Indonesian police announced that they would persuade The Hague to
extradite the 49-year-old pilot to stand trial here.
"We'll do our best to bring the suspect here to trial even
though the crime took place in the Netherlands," the head of the
National Police crime investigation directorate, Brig. Gen.
Rusdihardjo, told reporters last week.
He said the police were following an existing law which
permits an Indonesian court to try a citizen for a crime
committed overseas.
Although the countries have no extradition treaty, Rusdihardjo
believes that the close relationship between the two countries
would support the police's request.
According to National Police Chief Lt. Gen. Dibyo Widodo, the
police want to trace the pilot's local accomplices.
According to Brouwer, he had no idea whether the Indonesian
authorities had submitted an official request for the pilot's
extradition.
"I think it's also an early status for that because we have to
make the outcome of the police investigation first," the
ambassador said.
Indonesian officials have complained about the alleged abuse
suffered by Garuda Indonesia's senior pilot in custody.
"There's no mistreatment. We have done everything properly
according to our procedures in handling this case," Brouwer said.
The ambassador said that Said was injured prior to his arrest.
"He refused any medical treatment we offered until the visit
of the embassy personnel. At the jail, he has three meals a day
and coffee at any time," Brouwer added.
The Dutch ambassador denied reports that Said was not allowed
to meet Indonesian embassy staff, that his lawyers were not
allowed to accompany him and that he was beaten by Dutch police.
The embassy staff wanted to meet the suspect the day after he
was arrested, which is impossible according to the Netherlands'
procedures.
Brouwer also denied reports here that the Dutch authorities
had not immediately informed the embassy of the arrest.
Tension between the two countries grew this week when a Dutch
press report on Monday said that an employee of the Indonesian
embassy in The Hague was involved in an Ecstasy ring.
The influential De Telegraaf reported that Ecstasy pills were
smuggled through the embassy's diplomatic pouches, carried by
Garuda crew members.
The Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs is looking into the
report.
When asked to comment on the report, Ambassador Brouwer said
yesterday that the newspaper was responsible for the report.
"At this moment, there's no claim or no statements of the
police or the government of the Netherlands about any involvement
of the Indonesian embassy in this case," the ambassador said.
Brouwer quoted foreign affairs minister Ali Alatas as saying
in their recent meeting that "the relations between the two
countries is excellent and he (Alatas) had all confidence that
we'll manage and solve this case together."
Meanwhile, Dutch embassy staff here were surprised by a bomb
hoax yesterday. All the people at the embassy building on Jl.
Rasuna Said in Kuningan, South Jakarta, were evacuated after an
unidentified caller informed the receptionist at around 8:30 a.m.
yesterday that a bomb would explode in the building within 90
minutes.
Brouwer said he hoped there was no connection between the bomb
threat and the Ecstasy case. (bsr)