Jakarta police release Soeripto conditionally

JAKARTA (JP): Police said on Wednesday that even though the former secretary-general of the ministry of forestry Soeripto had been named a suspect, there was no need to detain him provided that he followed certain conditions.

"He must report to the police once a week, possibly for further questioning. He must never try to hide any information from police detectives," Jakarta Police chief of detectives Sr. Comr. Adang Rochana, told reporters at Jakarta Police headquarters.

Soeripto was arrested on Tuesday for allegedly leaking state secrets.

Adang said that police did not have enough evidence to back the charge that Soeripto had indeed leaked state secrets.

"Soeripto is a suspect, but we're sure he will not escape. Some legislators arrived at Jakarta Police headquarters this (Wednesday) afternoon, in order to act as his guarantors," Adang said.

Meanwhile, Soeripto, who was escorted out of the building by his lawyers and police officers, said that he led a research foundation which focused on studies of Indonesian Defense and Strategy and the "research work was often used by the National Resilience Institute (Lemhannas)."

"I do not understand why I am being suspected of leaking state secrets," Soeripto said.

Backing Soeripto's statements, the former minister of defense who is also a former Lemhannas governor, Juwono Sudarsono, said separately that he had benefited from information supplied by Soeripto's foundation, which Juwono said was about facts on Indonesian Defense.

"My position in that research foundation was as an advisor and I used to receive monthly reports on research work conducted by the foundation," he said.

He said the information could not be categorized as "secrets" as they could be readily obtained by the mass media.

Soeripto earlier said that his work focused mainly on domestic mass conflicts, particularly those driven by economic instability, political conditions and relationships shared between civilians and the Indonesian Military (TNI).

Soeripto's lawyer, Effendi Saman, said on Wednesday that there was the possibility that Soeripto's arrest was linked to the fact that Soeripto had provided evidence of corruption, allegedly committed by timber tycoon Prajogo Pangestu.

Prajogo is one of three businessmen who were at one point exempted from investigation by the Attorney General's Office.

Meanwhile, Jakarta Police detectives raided Soeripto's research foundation on Jl. Tulodong Bawah in South Jakarta, and ended up finding "very little material of relevance" to the charges that Soeripto is suspected of.

"Police are still collecting evidence. We found some documents in Soeripto's office on conflicts in Maluku, in Jember, East Java, and dukun santet (black magic) practices in Banyuwangi, East Java, but not about state secrets," Adang told reporters.

Soeripto, dismissed by President Abdurrahman Wahid last month for reportedly holding a meeting to plot his downfall, was picked up by police mobile detectives (Resmob) at his residence in Cipete Selatan, South Jakarta, on Tuesday.

He was arrested following a tip that three men arrested on Monday for illegal possession of weapons at a Central Jakarta hotel were Soeripto's men.

Soeripto said he had reserved the room for them to observe the security situation in the capital, during the mass prayer and House plenary session. (ylt)