Farouk Arnaz, Markus Junianto Sihaloho & Nivell Rayda – The Witness and Victim Protection Agency said on Wednesday it had failed to convince the National Police headquarters that graft suspect Susno Duadji needed to be placed under the agency's custody. Should anything happen to Susno now, agency chief AH Semendaway said, the National Police would have to take full responsibility.
Semendaway's statement comes a day after lawyers for Susno renewed calls for him to be put into the custody of the agency, known as the LPSK, after a court ruled on Monday that his arrest and detention were lawful.
Lawyer Ari Yusuf Amir made the call after a Jakarta court rejected the pretrial motion entered by the former National Police chief detective over his arrest and detention.
Semendaway said LPSK commissioners had met with police officials on Tuesday and urged them to release Susno from the Kelapa Dua detention center in Depok and hand him over to the LPSK. But police argued that Susno was a graft suspect undergoing intense investigation.
"As long as his status remains that of a suspect, he will not be handed over to us. Police have assured us that nothing will happen to Susno under their protection," Semendaway said.
Police told the commissioners that the detention center was the safest place for Susno. Once police agreed to let the LPSK monitor Susno during his detention at Kelapa Dua, Semendaway said, the agency relented.
"Besides, the procedural rights of Susno will be fulfilled, as LPSK officers will be given permission to accompany him during police questioning," Semendaway said.
Susno's daughter, Indira Tantri Maharani, told the Jakarta Globe that her father had written his letter of resignation, and that it would be addressed to National Police Chief Gen. Bambang Hendarso Danuri and President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. The letter, however, has not been sent yet.
"The reason my father wants to resign is that he no longer wants to be part of an institution that burdens or harms the people's future by engaging in a string of fabricated acts such as those aimed at him," Indira said. "If a three-star general is treated in this manner, what about ordinary folks?
"Whether or not he ends up handing over the resignation letter depends on [the actions of] the National Police chief. If the police chief fails to conduct reform within the police institution, my father will resign."
University of Indonesia legal analyst Hasril Hertanto said there was an apparent overlap of authority between the National Police and the LPSK, which in this case would most likely be won by the police.
"Susno is both a suspect and a witness deemed who is indispensable in unraveling practices of case-brokering inside the National Police," Hasril told the Globe. "However, the body actually saying that Susno's testimony is indispensable is the Judicial Mafia Eradication Task Force, which is not part of the law-enforcement system."
He said that according to the 2006 Law on the Protection of Witnesses and Victims, the LPSK was obliged to confirm to a law-enforcement agency whether a person's testimony was deemed indispensable before it could offer protection.
Task force member Mas Achmad Santosa said the team was hoping to amend the regulation, particularly Article 10, which stipulates that a whistle-blower can only plead for leniency.
"The law does not describe what sort of leniency and what the LPSK's role is in protecting a whistle-blower," Achmad said. "We hope that in the future there will not be any more disputes like this. We will ensure that the LPSK is granted greater power."
Susno was first charged in an arowana fish farm bribery case based on testimony by suspected case broker Sjahril Johan, who claimed to have paid him Rp 500 million ($55,000).
A second allegation concerns claims that Susno siphoned off a portion of West Java's election security fund when he served as the province's police chief in 2008.
A third allegation is still under preliminary investigation, based on findings by the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK) over a suspicious transfer of Rp 3.8 billion into Susno's bank accounts from his former lawyer.