Supreme Court rules in favor of Soeharto

Supreme Court rules in favor of Soeharto

JAKARTA (JP): The Supreme Court has lifted ex-president
Soeharto's city arrest status and ordered state prosecutors to
provide medical treatment until the now ailing former despot is
declared fit enough to stand trial on corruption charges.

Justice M. Syafiuddin Kartasasmita, who presided over the
three-member panel of justices, told a press briefing on Monday
that the Attorney General's Office has been ordered to take care
of Soeharto's medical treatment at the state's expense.

"It's now up to the state prosecutors to decide where or how
to execute the verdict, while they are also empowered to decide
on Soeharto's arrest status while he is receiving treatment," he
said.

Syafiuddin, also a Supreme Court deputy chief justice for
general cases, affirmed that the trial could only begin if the
doctors appointed by the state prosecutors announced that
Soeharto had recovered and was well enough to stand trial.

Soeharto, who will turn 80 in June of this year, is accused of
stealing US$571 million from the state by funneling money from
seven charitable foundations that he chaired into businesses
belonging to his family and cohorts.

The South Jakarta District Court on Sept. 28 last year decided
to drop the case on the grounds that the defendant was physically
and mentally unfit to stand trial.

The prosecutors appealed for a review to the High Court,
arguing that the trial should be resumed regardless of whether
Soeharto was present or absent.

In November, the Jakarta High Court put Soeharto under city
arrest and ordered the reopening of the case while ruling that
Soeharto's presence during the trial was not mandatory.

Soeharto's defense lawyers then brought the case to the
Supreme Court insisting that their client was suffering from
"serious brain damage".

The Supreme Court allowed the appeal in its ruling issued on
Friday.

Even though it has lifted Soeharto's city arrest status, the
travel ban still remains in effect.

The panel of justices, which also included Artidjo Alkostar
and R. Sunuwahadi, set no time limit for the reopening of the
Soeharto case.

Responding to the verdict, Attorney General Marzuki Darusman
said that his office had yet to decide how the prosecutors would
execute the Supreme Court's verdict, but that his office would
likely use the services provided by the state-run Cipto
Mangunkusumo Hospital in Central Jakarta.

"We'll announce our next steps in a few days...until then, the
South Jakarta Prosecutors' Office, which is the public prosecutor
in this case, will monitor the defendant who is still under a
travel ban," he told journalists at his office in the afternoon.

He said, however, that he would take legal proceedings against
those allegedly involved in the Soeharto case.

Soeharto did not attend any of the three court sessions held
by the South Jakarta District Court in the auditorium of the
agriculture ministry building in South Jakarta.

The doctors' opinion corroborated the arguments of the former
president's defense lawyers at the time who claimed that their
client should never have to face court proceedings again due to
his permanent incapacitation resulting from the three strokes
that he had suffered.

Justice Syafiuddin explained on Monday that the decision's
reasoning was based on the failure of the prosecutors to bring
the defendant before the court, while the substance of the case
had yet to be touched on by the justices as it had not yet been
raised in the courtroom.

"The dossier has yet to be read out before the court. This
appeal merely concerns whether a sick defendant should face
trial," he added.

Commenting on the Supreme Court's verdict, head of the
Military and Police Faction in the House, Budi Harsono, said that
the decision was "politically right".

"Although Soeharto is no longer under arrest, he cannot go
anywhere without supervision since he has reached old age.
Furthermore, not all the policies he made while in power were
wrong," he told journalists.

"According to this verdict, legal proceedings can still go
ahead and this is crucial to restoring the people's trust in the
government," he added.

However, the decision has also sparked controversy, especially
after President Abdurrahman Wahid stated that he would accelerate
reform and the elimination of corruption, collusion and nepotism.

Political observer J. Kristiadi said that the President had to
prove his commitment to the resolving of corruption cases that
happened in the past, including those concerning Soeharto, in
order to regain the public trust which had been eroded by his
alleged involvement in the Bulog and Brunei financial scandals.
(bby/dja/rms)