Permadi claims innocence, will appeal

Permadi claims innocence, will appeal

JAKARTA (JP): Controversial soothsayer Permadi Satrio Wiwoho
maintained his innocence and declared his plan to appeal to
Yogyakarta High Court ruling sentencing him to four months of
imprisonment for blasphemy.

He told The Jakarta Post by telephone yesterday that the
higher court's sentence, which is shorter than the one made by
the lower Sleman District Court, has convinced him even more that
he is not guilty.

"The High Court's judges should have cleared me of all
charges, because all the evidence and testimony given during the
trials in the district court supported my innocence," he said.

He said he believed the judges have indeed realized he was
innocent, but still had to rule against his release because "they
were not free from outside pressure". He did not elaborate.

Judges at the Yogyakarta High Court sentenced Permadi to four
month of imprisonment for insulting Islam when he said at a
seminar at the Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta in 1994 that
Prophet Muhammad was a dictator.

The copy of the verdict was delivered to the Sleman District
Court on Tuesday. The punishment meted out by the High Court was
three months shorter than the term given by the District Court on
Sept. 11, 1995.

Permadi started to serve his time on April 17. He had served
the jail term for five months and three days, when he was
released on Sept. 12, 1995 on the consideration of a legal
technicality.

The Yogyakarta High Court's ruling of four months imprisonment
means that Permadi had been kept behind bars for a month and
three days too long.

Despite his intention to appeal, Permadi said yesterday he
would still consult his team of lawyers beforehand.

"Whether to appeal or not, it will be their decision. I will
accept their decision," he said.

He said he did not care about "the judiciary of this world".
"What's important for me is that I have asked God's forgiveness
for everything that I have done and said", he said.

"I ask God to punish me, as harshly as possible, if He feels I
was guilty, and to let me go free if I'm innocent," he added.

Appeal

Meanwhile, Permadi's lawyer Trimoelja D. Soerjadi said the
team of lawyers would soon file an appeal to the Supreme Court.

"We have discussed the High Court's verdict and will file an
appeal to the Supreme Court," Trimoelja told the Post yesterday.

Permadi's team of lawyers included Trimoelja, H.M. Dault,
Ramdlon Naning, Tumbu Saraswati and Sri Purwani.

Trimoelja said that the decision to appeal was based on the
lawyers' conviction of their client's innocence, and all the
testimony during the trial.

Trimoelja said none of the security officials, who attended
the seminar and later testified against Permadi in the Sleman
District Court, said that Permadi made blasphemous remarks during
the event.

The lawyer also said that Permadi could lodge a complaint
about the extra jail time he had served. However, no matter how
much a settlement Permadi would receive, it would still be an
inadequate compensation for the time he served behind bars,
Trimoelja said.

He said that his client would probably get Rp 1 million
(US$434.70), but that the lawsuit will have cost him more.(imn)