Soeharto's lawyer says no letter yet from AGO
Soeharto's lawyer says no letter yet from AGO
Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Former president Soeharto's lawyer Juan Felix Tampubolon claimed
he had not received a letter from the Attorney General's Office
(AGO) about the plan to reexamine his client's health.
Nonetheless, he expressed optimism that if it arrived, the
team of doctors would likely come to a conclusion that his client
was unable to stand trial due to his health.
"Wouldn't it be funny if the new medical team makes a
different conclusion from the previous teams," he mused,
apparently trying to add a bit of humor to an otherwise sad
situation.
The AGO said on Monday that it had set up a new team of
doctors to examine Soeharto's wealth in order to determine
whether or not the former dictator could deal with a corruption
investigation.
The new team was apparently a response to public outcry about
Soeharto's corruption case after he appeared healthy and happy
while reminiscing with old pal Mahathir Mohamad on Saturday.
Soeharto, who stepped down in disgrace on May 20, 1998 after
more than three decades in office, has been accused of embezzling
more than US$600 million worth of state funds laundered through
dozens of his tax-free foundations.
A team of medical doctors from state-owned Cipto Mangunkusumo
Hospital (RSCM) -- the same hospital that will carry out the
planned medical examination -- declared in August 2002 that
Soeharto was suffering from permanent brain damage due to at
least one minor stroke.
Meanwhile, noted lawyer Luhut M.P. Pangaribuan doubted on
Tuesday that the Attorney General was serious about its plan to
reopen Soeharto's corruption case.
According to Luhut, the AGO was just doing it as sort of PR
ploy to appease the tens of millions of people demanding that
justice be done in Soeharto's case, essentially to buy time until
the people forget about the case.
He said Soeharto would never be put on trial, unless the
country's leaders had the courage to dissolve this AGO and
establish a new one.
"Debate over Soeharto's condition is just taking place between
the prosecutors and medical doctors and they will be the ones to
decide whether he can stand trial," Luhut told The Jakarta Post.
Luhut said Soeharto should be sent to court so the judges
could decide whether or not he could stand trial.