Jakarta police release Soeripto conditionally

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)