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)