Tommy Soeharto's case goes to Supereme Court for review

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Prosecutors opposed on Monday an attempt by Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra, the youngest son of former president Soeharto, to overturn his murder conviction and 15-year prison sentence on the grounds of fresh evidence.

But for the sake of procedures, presiding judge Ridwan Mansur forwarded the case to the Supreme Court, who will have the final say on Tommy's request.

Prosecutor Hasan Madani concluded that the previous hearing at the Cilacap District Court in Central Java failed to produce new evidence, including testimony by witnesses presented by the convict.

During the earlier hearing in Cilacap, Tommy's lawyers John Kennedy Aziz and Dwi Sarjono presented five witnesses who, according to them, would throw new light into the case that favored the convict.

The witnesses were a cleaning boy at the Cemara Apartments, Asep Sarifudin, Cemara Apartment manager Beni M. Robani, PT Mampang Nugraha Prima staff member Renaldi, housemaid Slamet Sukma Jaya and forensic expert Abdul Munim Idris of the University of Indonesia.

The new evidence was expected to disprove the charges that Tommy had kept weapons in his apartment. It highlighted the discovery of hair at the house which was not Tommy's.

The cleaning boy told the Cilacap court that there were no weapons at Tommy's residence, while the forensic expert said that hair and nail samples found in the apartment belonged to someone whose blood type was different from Tommy's.

Tommy was sentenced to 15 years in prison for ordering the murder of Justice Syafiuddin Kartasasmita who had sentenced him to jail for graft,

According to the law, a convict making a request for a sentence review to the Supreme Court must submit new evidence to the district court that heard the case. The district court will then examine the new evidence.

Legal observers warned of flaws in Tommy's verdict that could prompt the Supreme Court to overturn it.

One of the loopholes was the fact that police failed to secure a warrant before seizing firearms and ammunition believed to be owned by Tommy from different locations.

Evidence is invalid if it is seized without a warrant.

Tommy announced soon after his conviction in August last year that he would not appeal the prison term but stressed that he would consider other legal options "taking into account the political situation in the country".

He is currently being held at the Batu Penitentiary on Nusakambangan Island, Central Java. The prison island is under the jurisdiction of Cilacap District Court.