Marzuki to appeal ruling on Djoko

JAKARTA (JP): Attorney General Marzuki Darusman said on Friday his office would file an appeal with the Jakarta High Court over the South Jakarta District Court's recent decision to drop the indictment of Djoko S. Tjandra, a suspect in the Rp 546 billion (US$73.7 million) Bank Bali scandal.

"There will be no changes to the content of the indictment. We'll soon submit the dossiers to the Jakarta High Court," he said at his office, adding that the dossiers were ready to be filed with the high court.

After receiving the appeal, the Jakarta High Court will decide within 14 days whether to uphold or overrule the district court's ruling. If the lower court's ruling is overruled, the high court will then hear the high-profile case.

Commenting on the unfavorable response from the international community to the district court's ruling, Marzuki said his office would do its best to have the district court's ruling reexamined by the high court.

"The ruling is not yet final. We'll use the chance to appeal to the high court," he said.

Minister of Law and Legislation Yusril Ihza Mahendra said the district court's ruling had caused apprehension among foreign investors.

"I was questioned several times by some foreign parties over the ruling. And I convinced them that the ruling is not final," Yusril said at his office.

Yusril did not name the foreign parties, but he was likely referring to a query by the World Bank on Tuesday.

Presiding judge Soenarto ruled in a pretrial hearing on Monday that the judges did not have the authority to hear the case, saying the matter should be heard by judges in a civil case.

Yusril said the ruling could destroy the government's credibility in the eyes of foreign investors, who saw the government as being responsible for the verdict.

"The verdict has nothing to do with the government. The government could not interfere with the verdict since we have a system which separates the authority of the judicial and executive institutions," he said.

He supported calls for an investigation of the judges and prosecutors in the case, a move which is believed would reveal whether the judges and prosecutors received bribes or were pressured by outside parties.

"Attorney General Marzuki Darusman promised me on Thursday that he would question the prosecutors about how they prepared the indictment," he said.

Yusril said his ministry would propose an investigation of the judges involved in the case if it could find any indications or evidence of corruption behind the verdict.

"We can propose the establishment of a team to investigate the case, whose members will come from both the Supreme Court and the ministry," he said.

The Bank Bali scandal centers on the transfer of Rp 546 billion from the bank to PT Era Giat Prima, of which Djoko is an executive. The money was paid as a commission for the company's services in assisting the bank in recouping some Rp 904 billion in interbank loans on closed banks under the control of the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency.

Part of the money is believed to have been transferred to Golkar Party to finance the presidential campaign of then president B.J. Habibie.

Separately, the director general for judiciary and state administrative courts at the Ministry of Law and Legislation, Parman Suparman, rejected the idea of transferring presiding judge Soenarto.

"I don't have any plans to move him to another place, since he was just moved to the South Jakarta District Court," he said at his office, adding that Soenarto, who is also the head of the district court, has been at the district court only since last year. Parman said a judge usually served at a district court for two years.

Soenarto was also the presiding judge in the case of the land exchange deal between the State Logistics Agency and wholesale firm PT Goro Batara Sakti. The deal allegedly involved former president Soeharto's youngest son Hutomo Mandala Putra, who was cleared of all charges by the court. (asa/01)