Soeharto case can be decided soon: Justice Artidjo

Soeharto case can be decided soon: Justice Artidjo

JAKARTA (JP): Supreme justice Artidjo Alkausar said that the
panel of justices handling an appeal sought by lawyers of former
president Soeharto found no obstacles in the case, saying that it
was merely an "ordinary" one.

"This is a common case, similar to other cases we have
handled, we have found no difficulties in finding legal arguments
to view the appeal," he told The Jakarta Post by phone on
Saturday.

"This case should be completed soon," he added.

Artidjo, who has been named to the three-member panel, said
his team was now studying the legal grounds used by the South
Jakarta District Court, which dropped the corruption charges
against Soeharto last September.

"We study all aspects in the case, including the South Jakarta
District Court's decision and the Jakarta High Court's ruling to
reopen the trial," he said.

Artidjo, former chairman of Yogyakarta's Legal Aid Foundation,
could not say when the panel would rule on the appeals, saying it
should await the final panel meeting.

The panel also comprises Justice M. Syaifuddin Kartasasmita as
the presiding justice and Justice Sunuwahadi. The two were part
of a panel of justices who found Soeharto's son Hutomo "Tommy"
Mandala Putra guilty of graft and ruled for an 18-month jail term
for Tommy.

Soeharto, 79, who resigned in May 1998, is accused of
swindling the state of US$571 million by funneling money from
seven charity foundations he was chairing into businesses
belonging to his children, relatives and cronies.

The district court dropped the case and released Soeharto from
city arrest after hearing the opinion of a team of doctors, who
testified that he was unfit to stand trial.

Soeharto did not attend any of the three court sessions.
Unlike other "normal court hearings", Soeharto's trial was never
formally opened as the panel of judges did not allow the
prosecutors to read out the indictments.

The prosecutors filed an appeal for a review to the Jakarta
High Court, which overturned the district court's decision and
ordered the resumption of Soeharto's arrest status.

The high court also pointed out that the doctors had exceeded
their authority and that the medical team's opinion should have
been taken as an explanation and not as legal evidence in the
case.

In its decision, the panel of judges, presided over by Judge
Gde Soedharta, expressed the consideration that when the trial
resumes, Soeharto's presence was not mandatory.

Artidjo, who was installed in September, once admitted that he
had yet to be entrusted with handling a single case during his
first two months in his post.

Now, he said, beside Soeharto's case, he was also handling
several other criminal cases. "Up to now, I have ruled in almost
100 cases." (bby)