Govt scorns Xanana's petition for new trial

JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Justice Oetojo Oesman yesterday scorned the plan by jailed East Timor rebel leader Jose Alexandre "Xanana" Gusmao for a new trial, calling it "unethical".

Oetojo said Xanana had already applied for clemency and this was granted by President Soeharto. "Since he had asked for clemency, this means that he has accepted his verdict. So his demand for a review of his case is funny."

However, he said, the decision on whether or not Xanana's petition for a new trial can be granted is not up to him but the Supreme Court.

In legal procedures, request for clemency is the last effort for a reprieve after all other channels have been pursued, including the petition for a review of the case or a new trial.

In Xanana's case, he bypassed all legal options after the Dili District Court handed him the life imprisonment term for his rebellious activities, and immediately applied for presidential clemency. The President commuted his term to 20 years in jail last August.

Xanana, the former leader of the armed separatist movement Fretilin, however has since disputed that he sought presidential clemency, saying that he was tricked by his government-appointed lawyer.

He made his position known in a letter smuggled out to the International Jurist Commission in Geneva and the Portuguese government, demanding that he be given a new trial.

Xanana has since appointed the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) to represent him in his efforts for a new trial.

YLBHI lawyers last week were denied access to see Xanana at the Cipinang correctional institution on two occasions. They reportedly plan to make a third attempt today.

Asked yesterday about the possibility of allowing the YLBHI lawyers to meet with Xanana, Oetojo said he would discuss the matter with the Cipinang jail warden.

He said however that by regulations, a political prisoner is subject to strict regulations about receiving of visitors.

Luhut Pangaribuan of the YLBHI said yesterday that the team wanted to discuss Xanana's request for a new trial following allegations that his trial at the Dili District Court last year was fraught with irregularities.

Luhut said the law allows his client to ask for a review of his conviction. "Even Chief Justice Purwoto Gandasubrata openly welcomes a petition," he said.

Responding to a question on what grounds Xanana is asking for a review, Luhut said he had found a lot of new evidence in the case, but declined to disclose any for the time being.

He added that the fact that Xanana could not choose his own lawyer independently is also consideration for why there should be a review. (05)