South Jakarta court receives dossiers on Soeharto

JAKARTA (JP): With the decision on a location for the trial remaining unsettled, government prosecutors submitted the dossiers on former president Soeharto's alleged corruption to the South Jakarta District Court on Tuesday.

"Insya Allah (God willing) ... the trial will start soon," head of the South Jakarta District Court Lalu Mariyun told a joint news conference at his office, along with head of the South Jakarta Prosecutor's Office Barman Zahir.

"Hopefully, the initial hearing will start immediately after the completion of the ongoing Annual Session of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR)," Mariyun said.

Some 700 MPR members are currently attending the Senayan legislative building compound for the 12-day Annual Session of the Assembly. The proceedings will end on Aug. 18.

Mariyun renewed his statement that he had yet to decide on a venue for the trial, and noted the security and space problems at the court building on Jl. Ampera Raya in South Jakarta.

"In principal, the trial will be held at the South Jakarta District Court building. If necessary, however, it's the authority of the court to move the venue to another place," he said without elaborating.

The prosecutors entered the court building at 2:30 p.m., a four-hour delay on the initial schedule, along with two boxes of original dossiers of Soeharto for the judges to study.

They also brought a large black travel bag, consisting of, among other things, seized documents on seven charitable foundations belonging to Soeharto as evidence.

Mariyun received the 45-page indictment and asked for a few days to study the case.

The panel will consist of Mariyun, Soemarno, I Gde Putra Yadnya, Mohammad Munawir and Sultan Mangun.

Director of Prosecution at the office of Deputy Attorney General for Special Crimes Mochtar Arifin said his office would try its best to present the ailing former president in court.

Attorney General's Office spokesman Yushar Yahya said that usually the judges would grant a defendant an excuse to skip a trial session over health problems.

"But the excuse would be valid for one session only," Yahya said.

"The judges are also entitled to check the defendant's medical condition by themselves, with the help of an appointed medical team," he added.

Later on Tuesday afternoon, one of Soeharto's lawyers, Juan Felix Tampubolon, accused officials of both the South Jakarta District Court and the South Jakarta Prosecutors' Office of collusion in determining the venue for the trial.

"Even before the prosecutors submitted the dossiers, the court and prosecutor's office officials met to discuss the venue.

"The prosecutors did not even give us the opportunity to obtain the dossiers nor submit our list of witnesses to them," Tampubolon told journalists at the Attorney General's Office.

He said the team of Soeharto's defense lawyers had prepared a number of witnesses, including former state officials during the Soeharto administration era and several executives of the foundations.

Mariyun also hinted during the news conference that the trial of Sapuan, former deputy chairman of the State Logistics Agency (Bulog), would start on Aug. 15, 2000.

"Sapuan is charged with embezzlement and deception over the disbursement of Rp 35 billion (US$3.9 million) in funds belonging to the Bulog employees' foundation, Yanatera" he said.

He added that some 36 witnesses would be summoned to testify in the case, including incumbent President Abdurrahman Wahid. (bby)