Legislators warn of legal glitches in prisoner deal
Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Legislators have warned the government of possible legal glitches in the proposed prisoner swap deal between Indonesia and the Philippines, arguing that the two countries adhered to different legal systems.
J.E. Sahetapy of the House of Representatives (DPR) law and home affairs committee urged the government on Thursday to stick to the country's existing legal system instead of indulging in a new legal innovation just to appease certain minority groups.
"Indonesia and the Philippines have different legal systems, and the Philippines' offer may ruin the legal system here as we (Indonesia) don't have any legal conventions concerning them (prisoner swaps)," said Sahetapy, a legislator from President Megawati Soekarnoputri's Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), on Thursday.
Fellow legislator Ibrahim Ambong, chairman of the House of Representative's Commission I for political, security and foreign affairs, said that exchanging prisoners would cause several problems here because Indonesia still questioned whether or not Agus had received a fair trial in the Philippines.
The Philippines floated the prisoner swap idea during a meeting between Minister of Foreign Affairs Hassan Wirayuda and Philippine Foreign Secretary Blas Ople here on Tuesday. Under the scheme, convicts from either country would be allowed to serve their prison terms in their home countries.
Megawati has reportedly said that she would study the proposal seriously.
The proposal, if approved, would allow Agus Dwikarna, an Indonesian currently serving a 10-year sentence in Manila, the Philippines, for illegal possession of explosives, to serve out his sentence in Indonesia.
Agus' conviction has sparked strong protests from hard-line Muslim groups in Indonesia who consider his imprisonment as part of an effort to discredit Islam.
Some radical groups have staged protests in front of the Philippine embassy in Jakarta and threatened to occupy it if Manila does not release Agus, who was arrested at Manila airport in March.
The Philippine government has warned its citizens in Indonesia to exercise caution and appealed to Agus' supporters not to harm them.
Six Filipinos are currently serving sentences in a penitentiary in Tarakan, East Kalimantan, for fuel smuggling.
"Such prisoner exchanges are unusual. We need further agreements that won't harm the two countries' relationship in the future. If we made a mistake by failing to make them serve their sentences, we could face charges of holding a foreign legal system in contempt," Sahetapy said.
Ibrahim, a Golkar legislator, urged the government to reopen the Agus case to determine whether or not Agus had links to international terrorist groups as charged by the Philippine authorities.
Asked whether a retrial would amount to double jeopardy -- the trying of a person for a second time on the same charges -- Ibrahim said: "Of course it would. But most Indonesian people here believe that the Agus case has been politicized for the sake of a foreign country's interest, that is the U.S. So, do you think we will accept the Manila court's verdict?," Ibrahim asked rhetorically.