Legislators warn of legal glitches in prisoner deal
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.