Tommy lays down conditions for his court testimony in Sidiq Muin's trial
Tommy lays down conditions for his court testimony in Sidiq Muin's trial
M. Taufiqurrahman, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra, the youngest son of former
president Soeharto, currently serving time for various crimes,
refused to appear on Tuesday at the Central Jakarta District
Court to testify in the trial of Islamic boarding school leader
Abdullah Sidiq Muin.
In a letter to the prosecutors -- which was sent through
Tommy's lawyer Elza Syarief last week -- Tommy said that he would
not attend the trial on Sidiq, who has been charged with fraud
and extortion, because he believed Raden Dodi Sumadi was the real
culprit in extorting Rp 15 billion (US$1.76million) from him.
"But he (the witness) had said to prosecutors that he would
appear in the next hearing," prosecutor Yunan Harjaka told the
court after reading the letter.
Tommy is now serving a 15-year prison term in Batu
Penitentiary on Nusakambangan Island, Cilacap, Central Java, for
illegal arms possession and masterminding the murder of Supreme
Court Justice M. Syafiuddin Kartasasmita who sentenced him to 18
months in jail over a graft case in 2000.
It was the graft case, which took place in 1995, that prompted
Tommy to seek clemency from then president Abdurrahman "Gus Dur"
Wahid.
Dodi, who claimed to be a close ally of Gus Dur, asked for the
money, which Tommy claimed was given in U.S. banknotes, to help
arrange meetings between Tommy and the former president at the
Regent and Borobudur hotels in October 2000.
Tommy's appeal for clemency was rejected, so he fled and was
on the run until November 2001.
The money was reportedly split into three equal parts; for the
Puan Amal Hayati Foundation belonging to Gus Dur's wife Sinta
Nuriyah, the At-Tauhid Islamic boarding school in Kediri, East
Java, led by Sidiq, and to pay the meetings' expenses.
Dodi, who fled following Tommy's arrest, was arrested at his
house in Kelapa Gading, North Jakarta, on Jan. 25, 2002.
Although the investigation began in 2001, the trial on Sidiq,
who is known as Mbah Diq, the spiritual advisor of Gus Dur, only
started last October while Dodi has yet to stand trial.
The delay in Dody's prosecution was not the only reason for
Tommy's no-show in court. In the letter, Tommy also said that he
would appear in court only if security measures for him were
relaxed.
"I will testify, only if there are fewer policemen guarding me
on the way to Jakarta. It is the police that bother me the most.
I would not run away," he said, adding that he would not mind
being escorted by the prosecutors or prison guards.
Many legal observers believed that the case, which was
filed by Tommy's lawyers while he was on the run, was merely a
legal decoy to muddle the police investigation of Tommy by
dragging other high-profile people into the case.
Presiding Judge Saparudin Hasibuan adjourned the trial to Nov.
18 to hear testimony from Tommy.