Justice denies foreign pressures in Pakpahan case
Justice denies foreign pressures in Pakpahan case
JAKARTA (JP): A Supreme Court judge denied suggestions that foreign pressures forced him to order the temporary release of a union leader accused of inciting a riot last year.
"I can categorically state that there were no foreign pressures," Deputy Chief Justice for Criminal Affairs Adi Andojo Soetjipto told The Jakarta Post yesterday regarding his decision to order the release of Muchtar Pakpahan, the chairman of the Indonesian Prosperity Labor Union.
He conceded, however, that the court had been exposed to pressures from many parties.
"I was afraid that if we extended his detention, I would be attacked, as if there were no legal certainty (here)," Adi said, citing several legal experts as well as international labor unions as behind the criticisms he received on the case.
"Those labor unions have been watching us," he said.
Pakpahan was released from a Medan jail on Friday pending a Supreme Court's decision on his appeal against a jail sentence for inciting labor unrest.
By law the Supreme Court can only order the detention of a person whose case it is dealing with for 50 days, renewable only once for a further 60 days. If by then the Court has not made a ruling on the case, it should order the release of the suspect as it continues to review the case, as is what happened in Pakpahan's case.
Pakpahan was jailed by a Medan court in November for three years for inciting labor unrest in the city in April 1994. A high court review lengthened the sentence in January by another year, after which Pakpahan lodged an appeal with the Supreme Court.
The government blamed his union, which it does not recognize, for the week-long labor unrest in Medan which degenerated into riots that led to one death and widespread property damage.
"His case isn't finished yet. He's not yet freed, he's just released from detention in accordance with chapter 28 of the Criminal Code procedures," Adi said. "We will push the processing on his case, though I can't say when it's going to be finished."
Adi said Pakpahan's case is different from the ruling on the Marsinah murder case in that the Supreme Court extended the detention period of the seven convicts beyond the period regulated by the Criminal Code because "it's a murder case", Adi said. "If they had been let loose, they would have created public anxiety."
Pakpahan, who has spent his first days home visiting his sick children, Binsar and Damai, at the Cikini hospital, said he was confident he was released because of external pressure.
"No matter what, I believe the decision came through because of all those international organizations' pressure," he told the Post yesterday.
He said he learned that the International Confederation of Free Trade Union has been lobbying the European Union and the World Bank to exert pressure on Indonesia.
"I know my case isn't finished and that the Supreme Court has yet to hand down its verdict, but if this country is law abiding, and the Supreme Court independent, I will have to be exonerated," said Pakpahan, who is a lawyer by training.
Pakpahan was still firm in denying the charges that he incited the labor unrest. "When I called for strikes because of the poor wages, was it wrong? Was it really a crime? If I said the government violated the Constitution by preventing people from assembling, was it wrong?" (swe)