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.