Probosutedjo seeks graft case review
Eva C. Komandjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Convicted embezzler Probosutedjo has confirmed his intention to ask the Supreme Court for a review of his graft conviction in a last ditch effort to get himself out of jail.
Probosutedjo's lawyer Arizal Boer said on Saturday he would collect more evidence before submitting the request in order to avoid rejection of the review.
A person who has already been convicted by the Supreme Court may ask for a case review or presidential clemency.
"God willing, we can submit it next week. We have to prepare it the best we can, because if the request is denied, we have no other avenue to seek justice," Arizal said.
Probosutedjo, who is the half-brother of the country's former president Soeharto, is serving a four-year term at the Cipinang Penitentiary.
The Supreme Court upheld the lower courts' ruling that found Probosutedjo guilty of misusing reforestation funds amounting to Rp 100.9 billion (US$10 million). The Court also ordered him to pay a Rp 30 million fine and return the money he had stolen by the end of December.
Arizal claimed that his client's conviction was an act of revenge for his revelations of verdict buying practices in the Supreme Court, which have also implicated Chief Justice Bagir Manan.
Probosutedjo had confessed to the Corruption Eradication Commission that he had given out a total of Rp 16 billion to his previous lawyers for the purpose of bribing prosecutors and judges. Of this amount, Rp 5 billion was supposed to be paid to Bagir, who presided over the panel of justices hearing Probosutedjo's appeal.
Bagir replaced the justices following Probosutedjo's confession. Sources close to the Supreme Court said the old panel of justices would have acquitted the businessman through a split decision.
Arizal said he was waiting for a copy of the verdict from the Supreme Court before seeking the case review.
"The copy is one of the requirements when asking for a case review. Hopefully we will receive it soon since it will facilitate the processing of our request," Arizal said.
He said he would also submit several documents that showed how the reforestation fund was managed.
Despite Probosutedjo's conviction, the investigation into alleged verdict buying continues.
The Judicial Commission expects to question Bagir in the near future, after examining Probosutedjo and his lawyers.
"We hope to question him before the end of the year. We're preparing materials now," commission member Soekotjo Soeparto said.
The commission found irregularities in the meeting between Probosutedjo's lawyer Harini Wijoso and Bagir on Sept. 10, when she informed him about her retirement as a high court judge.
The bribery case surfaced after Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) investigators arrested Harini and five Supreme Court officials on Oct. 1, and seized Rp 800 million and $400,000 in cash as evidence from her house.
KPK investigators questioned Bagir on Nov. 18, a few weeks after they searched his room at the Supreme Court.