Tommy, Ba'asyir to receive remissions

Tommy, Ba'asyir to receive remissions

Suherdjoko and Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post/Semarang/Jakarta

Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Ba'asyir and Hutomo Mandala Putra, a son of former president Soeharto, will be among 53,000 inmates across the country who will have their jail sentences reduced in conjunction with the 60th anniversary of independence.

Minister of Justice and Human Rights Awaluddin Hamid said on Friday the remissions, which will be effective from Independence Day on Aug. 17, would also be given to certain convicts in the Bali bombings in 2002, which killed 202 people.

Some 30,000 of the inmates will receive jail term reductions under the Dasawarsa special remission, which is given to those who have served 10 years in jail, Hamid said.

There are some 105,000 inmates currently incarcerated across the country.

The government has regularly awarded remissions in conjunction with Independence Day and main religious holidays like Idul Fitri and Christmas.

Inmates are also entitled to a one-month jail term reduction every year for his or her humanitarian activities, such as donating blood.

"The government will shave a maximum of seven months from inmates' jail terms this year," Hamid said.

According to the law, inmates who are sentenced to life imprisonment or death are not entitled to any remissions.

Hamid would not disclose the length of remission awarded to Hutomo, better known as Tommy, who is serving a 10-year jail sentence for ordering the murder of a Supreme Court justice in 2001. The Supreme Court had jailed him to 15 years, but it recently cut the sentence after he sought a review of the case.

A regular recipient of remissions, Tommy is expected to be free by 2007. He is being incarcerated at Nusakambangan maximum security prison in Central Java, but has frequently received medical treatment at the Gatot Subroto Army Hospital in Central Jakarta.

Meanwhile, the Bali justice and human rights agency has proposed remissions for 19 of the 24 convicts sentenced in connection with the Bali bombings. Agency head A.A.G. Mayun Mataram said five convicted masterminds of the terror attack were excluded because they have been sentenced to death or life imprisonment.

Last year, six convicts in the bombings each received two months off their sentences. They were Hamzah Baya alias Soleh Bin Bakir, Samsul Arifin alias Ilham Bin Abdul Muntholib, Sofyan Hadi alias Bejo, Firmansyah alias Edi Harun, Hafidin S AG alias Munawar and Abdul Rauf alias Sam. They were sentenced to between two and 16 years in jail for assisting the Bali bombers.

In Central Java, remissions of up to six months will be given to 3,477 inmates, with 514 of them walking free on Aug. 17, according to the provincial penitentiary division head Sutomo Rahardjo.

Among those who will have their jail terms cut will be Acehnese who were convicted of treason for joining the Free Aceh Movement (GAM).

There are 6,869 inmates in Central Java prisons.