Hendra picks Indonesian lawyer to defend him
JAKARTA (JP): Hendra Rahardja, who is in a Sydney jail awaiting a procedural hearing on extradition, has named Indonesian lawyer Alamsyah Hanafiah to defend him in the Australian courts and in his trial here.
"He signed the documents to appoint me as his lawyer from the jail in Sydney on Sunday," Alamsyah told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.
Based on the documents, Alamsyah said he was to set up a team of lawyers for the preparation to defend Hendra, whose case is to be heard by a Sydney court on July 16.
By law, only someone who has passed the Australian bar can defend someone in an Australian court.
"My team and I will leave for Sydney in about two weeks from now to back up Hendra's local lawyers there," he said, referring to Australian lawyers provided by the local authorities.
Alamsyah, however, refused to elaborate on matters, such as the identities of Hendra's relatives who took the documents to be signed by Hendra to the jail, details of his team members and the amount of money he would received from Hendra, one of the most wanted Indonesian bankers.
Last Thursday, he told the Post that Hendra's relatives in Hong Kong planned to visit Hendra in Sydney on the weekend to verify whether the man was the real Hendra Rahardja.
The businessman's relatives, such as his wife and children, also wanted by the Indonesian police to help with information on the fugitive's whereabouts and that of his younger brother, Eddy Tansil, a criminal who escaped from Cipinang Penitentiary here in 1996.
Hendra, who fled the country allegedly to avoid responsibility following the liquidation of his two banks -- Bank Harapan Sentosa (BHS) and Bank Guna International -- in November 1997, was arrested on June 1 by immigration officers at Kingsford-Smith International Airport in Sydney.
This will not be the first time that Alamsyah has acted as Hendra's lawyer. Hendra used the lawyer's services in 1997n to explain his flight from the country.
Alamsyah at that time assured the press, the government as well as the banks' customers that Hendra was not permanently leaving the country and would be back to take responsibility for the two banks' problems.
The assurances, however, have not proved to be of much value.
On Tuesday, he also refused to comment on whether his client would be able to stick to his words that he would not allow himself to be extradited to Jakarta for his alleged massive bank fraud.
At the moment, the Australian authorities are waiting for an official request from the Indonesian government for the extradition of Hendra.
The formal request is required by Sydney for the procedural hearing of the case.
Should Indonesian authorities fail to meet the July 15 deadline, or 45 days after Hendra's arrest which is the maximum period allowed for Australian authorities to detain a foreigner wanted by his or her country, Australia might deport Hendra to Hong Kong.
A procedural hearing at a Sydney court last Wednesday failed to decide whether Hendra would be extradited due to the absence of the written request from Indonesian authorities.
Judge Allan Moore adjourned the hearing to July 16, in the expectation that Jakarta would soon submit an appeal.(bsr)