U.S., RI hold legal workshop

JAKARTA: The United States and Indonesian governments started on Wednesday a two-day international workshop to work out how both countries could better nab international criminals and seize their ill-gotten gains.

The workshop, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Justice and the Indonesian Ministry of Justice and Human Rights, is focusing on treaties, laws and procedures relating to international evidence gathering and international cooperation in seizing proceeds from criminal activities.

"Criminals can easily function internationally, and they use national boundaries to their advantage in committing crimes and avoiding arrest and prosecution," U.S. Ambassador to Indonesia B. Lynn Pascoe said in his opening remarks. The workshop would encourage the use of international mechanisms for gathering evidence and seizing assets overseas, so that Indonesia could bring transnational criminals to justice here.

Around 50 prosecutors, police officers, government officials and law enforcement liaison officers from countries in the region are taking part in the workshop. -- JP