Limiting rights of suspects

Limiting rights of suspects

From Media Indonesia

In the bill on terrorism proposed by the government, the rights of terrorist suspects are reduced to a minimum. If it is established as a law, the suspects, during investigation, will not have the right to remain silent or be accompanied by a lawyer. The head of the team proposing the bill said that as terrorism is categorized as an "extraordinary crime", it is possible to exclude the normal principles of the due process of law.

In England, since 1998, the rights of suspects in acts of terrorism have been very limited, including their right to remain silent during an investigation. For terrorists, who are usually not stupid, the weak points or loopholes in the law are easily used to their advantage, making any related investigation extremely difficult.

Unfortunately, such limitations are not included in this country's current laws against corruption. With such limitations, all unsavory details would easily be revealed to the public, which would make it easier to eradicate this country's corruption.

It is not too difficult for a smart lawyer to play around with the loopholes in our fragile laws. To make things worse, prosecutors often leave a gap for suspects to escape from indictment. Judges have also been known to join in this corrupt game.

It is high time that the utmost attention be given to corruption cases, so that, like the local saying goes, there are no more thieves calling others thieves. And everyone in the law profession should never sell their soul in defending the rights of corruptors.

TAUFIK KARMADI

Jakarta