Police brace for Akbar's verdict

Police brace for Akbar's verdict

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta/Surabaya/Medan

Hundreds of police personnel will be deployed at the Supreme
Court compound as security authorities brace up for possible
violence during the corruption trial of Golkar Chairman Akbar
Tandjung on Thursday.

Jakarta Police spokesperson Sr. Comr. Prasetyo said on
Wednesday that some 700 police officers, equipped with shields,
batons and tear gas, would be stationed in and around the
compound when judges deliberating Akbar's appeal issue a binding
verdict over his corruption case.

Akbar, who has made known his political ambition to run for
the presidency in the upcoming elections, is battling to have his
guilty verdict thrown out by the Supreme Court.

The Golkar chairman was sentenced to three years in prison by
the Central Jakarta District Court in 2002 for his role in a Rp
40 billion (US$4.8 million) financial scandal involving the State
Logistics Agency (Bulog), making him the first high-ranking
official to be sentenced to prison for corruption.

Maintaining his innocence, Akbar appealed the verdict with the
Jakarta High Court. The court, however, upheld the sentence in
2003, prompting Akbar to file an appeal with the Supreme Court,
which will hand down its verdict on Thursday (today).

Speculation is rife that Akbar, who is also Speaker of the
House of Representatives, will be acquitted on the grounds that
he was just acting on the instruction of former president B.J.
Habibie.

Hundreds of supporters and opponents of Akbar are expected to
protest in front of the court as judges deliver the verdict that
will determine the future of Akbar's political career.

During the second deliberation on Feb. 4, supporters and
opponents of Akbar came close to fighting as both groups tried to
outdo each other.

Student activists already staged a rally on Wednesday in front
of the court on Jl. Medan Merdeka Timur, urging judges
deliberating Akbar's appeal to help fight against the country's
pandemic corruption.

Prasetyo said tear gas would be used if the protests turned
violent.

"Water canons will be on hand at the Jakarta Police compound,
and will be sent in if needed," he said.

The situation inside the courthouse itself was normal on
Wednesday, except for staff of the court's information
department, who were busy registering journalists wishing to
cover Akbar's trial.

The five judges in charge of Akbar's appeal were busy with
their daily activities, while no guards were assigned to protect
judge Paulus Effendy Lotulung, head of the five-member panel.

The four other members are Muchsin, who is a former lecturer
at the Surabaya-based Airlangga University, Abdurrahman Saleh, a
former chairman of Jakarta-based Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI),
and career judges Arbijoto and Parman Suparman.

While Jakarta Police were busy figuring out security
arrangements for his trial, Akbar flew to Surabaya, East Java on
Wednesday, where he appealed to the Supreme Court to clear him of
the corruption charge.

Akbar, however, stressed that he had prepared other options if
he lost the appeal.

"Whether I like it or not, the court's verdict will affect my
presidential candidacy, but I don't want to ruin the solidity of
my party, no matter what happens," Akbar said.

Meanwhile, several Golkar leaders organized a public
discussion on Wednesday, during which they demonstrated optimism
that Akbar would be acquitted.

Present in the discussion were Nasrullah, a lecturer from the
University of Indonesia and Bomer Pasaribu, a former manpower
minister, who now serves as one of the party's deputy secretaries
general.

During the discussion, all panelists said that Akbar was not
guilty, arguing that "he merely carried out the instruction of
his superior" -- former president B.J. Habibie.

Article 51 of the Criminal Code stipulates that someone cannot
be held accountable for something he or she does on instruction
from his or her superior.