Tommy still innocent of graft, but must go to jail

Tommy still innocent of graft, but must go to jail

Tiarma Siboro and Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

In a seemingly bizarre twist of justice, Chief Justice Bagir
Manan on Thursday said Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra must be
jailed for last year's graft conviction but at the same time
insisted that the Supreme Court decision to later exonerate him
also still stands.

Bagir would not define the jail term Tommy must serve, but it
was estimated to be about 11 months, equivalent to the time he
was ordered into prison in November last year to the Supreme
Court's decision overturning the conviction in October.

The original sentence for Tommy's conviction in the Goro-Bulog
land scam was 18 months.

Bagir underlined that the Supreme Court's decision which
overturned the conviction would still stand pending the
completion of a review which was recently requested by
prosecutors.

Revealing the contents of a letter he sent to the Attorney
General's Office, Bagir told reporters that based on Article 268
of the Criminal Code, nothing must delay the execution of the
court's sentence.

The question now is whether Bagir's letter, which he defined
as a "legal opinion", could officially give authorities the power
to put Tommy behind bars.

Even Bagir conceded that "since this is a Supreme Court legal
opinion, of course no one is bound by it."

But he argued that the opinion referred to legal procedures in
the Criminal Code which must be upheld.

"So legal enforcers must respect it," he remarked adding that
Tommy should have immediately been put in jail in the first place
when his request for a presidential pardon in November 2000 was
rejected.

Nevertheless, since Tommy's capture nearly two weeks ago,
police have been building a case on three alleged crimes he
committed while in hiding -- the assassination of Supreme Court
Justice Syafiuddin Kartasasmita, possession of arms and
masterminding a series of bomb attacks.

Legal experts, and even the government, however have urged
police to also build a case for his contempt of court, which he
clearly committed by fleeing after a court conviction.

Tommy's lawyer, Elza Syarief said she was disappointed with
the Supreme Court's legal opinion.

"How could the Supreme Court make a decision without
conducting any hearings?" she asked after accompanying Tommy to
another round of questioning at Jakarta Police headquarters on
Thursday.

Separately, legal expert Achmad Ali when asked by The Jakarta
Post, said Bagir's argument was quite convincing.

"If Tommy had not fled he would have been in prison until the
Supreme Court overturned the verdict earlier this year," said
Achmad who was a special advisor to the late Attorney General
Baharuddin Lopa.

"I guess the legal opinion is acceptable. It doesn't violate
existing laws and fulfills public demand for justice," he added.