Oki's lawyer vows to go to U.S. despite govt ban

Oki's lawyer vows to go to U.S. despite govt ban

JAKARTA (JP): Despite being banned by the immigration office
from leaving the country because of his alleged role in a
criminal case, lawyer Ruhut Sitompoel said on Thursday that he
would visit the United States to search for evidence which might
help his client, Harnoko Dewantono, alias Oki, who is the main
suspect in a Los Angeles triple murder.

"Let them see: I can be another David Copperfield," Ruhut told
The Jakarta Post.

According to Ruhut, the authorities have allowed his partner
Tommy Sihotang to leave for the United States, but have forbidden
him from doing so, because of his alleged involvement in the
fatal beating of a male servant, Djasman, 23, believed to have
kidnapped and killed his employer's two-and-a-half year old son.
Djasman died in 1993.

"We will leave for the United States, probably early next
month," Ruhut said.

"My partner Tommy will leave the country through the formal
exit gate but I will join him soon in the United States via a
David Copperfield route," he said.

Ruhut said that he and his partner would visit several police
officers and witnesses in several cities, including Los Angeles,
New York, Chicago and Washington D.C., to collect evidence that
might be useful in defending Oki, who stands accused of killing
his business partners, an Indian man and a young Indonesian
woman, as well as his younger brother.

"We'll also meet with Indonesian Ambassador Arifin M. Siregar,
who is a close friend of Oki's father," Ruhut said.

"We have informed the ambassador of our visit."

Police and immigration officers announced on Wednesday that
Ruhut was banned from going abroad due to his status as a suspect
in the fatal beating of the servant Djasman in September 1993.

The servant was wanted by police for his alleged role in the
kidnapping and murder of the son of an executive of the powerful
Pemuda Pancasila youth organization of which Ruhut is also a
leading member.

Police allege that Ruhut, along with at least two other
executives of the organization, tortured the servant.

Djasman died at the city police headquarters several days
after he was handed over to police, alive, by members of Pemuda
Pancasila.

City police claim that the servant died because of serious
injuries.

One of Djasman's ears was missing.

Head of the City Police Crime Investigation Directorate, Col.
Nurfauzi, told the Post on Wednesday that Ruhut, along with
Pemuda Pancasila's executives Yorrys Raweyai and Gunung Hutapea,
had also beaten the servant while he was in police detention.

According to Ruhut, the police dossiers on the case have been
rejected twice by the prosecutor's office because of weaknesses.

Ruhut said that he and his two colleagues had been held in a
city police cell for three weeks but were released because of a
lack of evidence that he had been involved in the beating that
led to Djasman's death.

"But Yorrys and I have been barred from leaving the country
ever since then," he said.

The lawyer questioned the legality of the immigration
department's ban.

"I have been informed that the National Police Chief, the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Justice have
received copies of the decision as required by our law," said
Ruhut.

He said he and Tommy would leave the city when Oki's current
trial for passport forgery was over, probably at the end of this
month.

At the trial session on Thursday, the court turned down
Ruhut's request for a change of venue for the murder trial.

The venue of Oki's impending trial for the Los Angeles triple
murder has yet to be determined, but police have said that it
will take place at the Central Jakarta district court. (bsr)