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)