Justices examine appeals' dossiers

JAKARTA (JP): The Supreme Court will give priority to appeals sought by lawyers of former president Soeharto, his fugitive son Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra and former East Timor militia leader Eurico Guterres.

"We expect to issue rulings on the three cases as soon as possible because they have drawn the attention of the public," new Deputy Chief Justice Taufiq told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.

He said the panel of justices named for the Soeharto and Tommy appeals are now examining dossiers of the cases, while selection of justices to hear Eurico's appeal is still underway.

"The dossiers of both Soeharto's and Tommy's appeals have been circulated to the justices since Jan. 2," Taufiq said.

Taufiq could not say when the justices would rule on the appeals because "there is no regulation on that."

Empirically, it could take the Supreme Court months or even years to issue a ruling on an appeal either sought by a defendant or the Attorney General's Office. The court overturned two lower courts rulings that exonerated Tommy and his business associate Ricardo Gelael late in September, 11 months after the Attorney General's Office filed the appeal.

Taufiq said first of all each member of the panel of justices would study the dossier, with the presiding justice the last to read it. The panel would then meet to share their opinions before issuing a ruling.

Justice M. Syaifuddin Kartasasmita has been named the presiding justice to hear an appeal against a High Court ruling to reopen the multi-million dollar graft case involving Soeharto. The panel also comprises Sunuwahadi and Artidjo Alkausar.

Taufiq will preside over Tommy's appeal of the Supreme Court ruling, along with panel members Suharto, who is Supreme Court chief of written civil cases, and German Budiarto, Supreme Court chief of military cases.

Taufiq said the Supreme Court was preparing a panel of justices who will hear an appeal filed by the National Police against a lower court pretrial ruling which ordered the police to release Eurico from unlawful arrest.

Eurico, who is facing trial for inciting others to commit crimes, had filed for a pretrial hearing calling into question the circumstances of his arrest on Oct. 4 at a hotel in Jakarta. (01)