Witness protection bill hailed as step forward

Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Activists hailed on Friday a bill on witness and victim protection, but demanded that it not only provide protection for witnesses in criminal cases, but ensure leniency for those people involved in criminal cases willing to testify against fellow defendants.

"This will help investigators probe crimes thoroughly," said the coordinator of the Indonesian Corruption Watch, Teten Masduki.

Leniency, Teten added, must not be given to the main defendants in criminal cases.

He was referring to the case of a middleman, Endin Wahyudi, who accused three Supreme Court justices of bribery last year. While the justices were cleared of all charges due to a lack of evidence, Endin was arraigned for defamation and sentenced to three months in prison, with a six-month probation.

Lawyer turned legislator Trimedya Panjaitan agreed with Teten, saying the witness and victim protection bill must encourage witnesses to give honest testimony.

The two men said there had been cases where witnesses were unwilling to testify because of threats from defendants.

House of Representatives legislators submitted the witness and victim protection bill this week, after a series of hearings with non-governmental organizations and scholars. A national symposium was held at Brawijaya University in Malang, East Java, in March to discuss this issue.

The bill proposes that witnesses and crime victims must first file a request before receiving protection.

The protection of witnesses and victims must be approved by the Institution for Witness and Victim Protection, an independent body to be set up after the bill is endorsed.

According to Article 19 of the bill, witnesses and victims must sign an agreement before receiving protection. The agreement lays out a number of terms and conditions, including the requirement that witnesses comply with all regulations, avoid contact with other people and keep their whereabouts a secret.

Apart from protection, victims of human rights abuses will receive medical and psychological treatment, upon official request to the protection body.

Teten said his organization was among those repeatedly calling for a witness and protection bill.

"We hope the legislators invite us to discuss the draft," he told The Jakarta Post by phone.

According to Teten, the bill should provide protection for witnesses and victims prior to and following a trial. Teten added that such protection could be provided by the police or an independent body.

But Trimedya said police protection by itself was insufficient.

Key articles

Article 5: Witnesses and victims have the right to protection, the counsel of a lawyer, a new identity, relocation and a transportation allowance, as well as having their family protected.

Article 7: Compensation will be outlined further in a government regulation.

Article 8: Protection is given from the start of the investigation process.

Article 18: Witnesses and victims must apply for protection to a body which will decide whether to approve the request.

Article 20: Protection can be terminated upon the request of witnesses or victims, or if witnesses or victim breach their agreements.

Article 25: Anyone who threatens a witness to prevent them from testifying in court are subject to four years imprisonment and a Rp 200 million fine. If their actions harm the witness/victim, they are subject to seven years imprisonment and a Rp 500 million fine.

Source: Witness and Victim Protection Bill