Nivell Rayda – The Constitutional Court on Friday upheld the 2006 Law on Witness Protection despite fears that it could prevent whistleblowers from unraveling major scandals.
The review of the law was filed by Comr. Gen. Susno Duadji, who has spoken out about corruption in the National Police but at the same time has been named a suspect in two graft cases.
The nine member panel ruled that even a whistleblower deemed indispensable to cases could still be prosecuted if he were involved in the crime.
"The provision does not violate the certainty of law and has ensured a sense of justice," Judge Achmad Sodiki said in the ruling. "A witness worthy of protection does not have ill intentions, such as trying to escape justice. In terms of protection, the person's rights are guaranteed by other laws."
Another judge, Achmad Fadlil Sumadi, said whistleblowers involved in the crime they are willing to expose should only be rewarded with a more lenient sentence for their cooperation and not immunity.
The court was split in its decision. Dissenting Judge Hamdan Zoelva said the law should be changed to encourage more perpetrators to come forward and expose criminal acts.
"The law has prevented the plaintiff Susno Duadji from further exposing acts of corruption. His information could also lead to the prosecution of other cases," Hamdan said. "Law enforcers must first investigate a witness's allegation and ensure that others are brought to justice before focusing on the crimes committed by the witness."
Susno's lawyer Maqdir Ismail agreed with the dissenting judge. "That is what we had hoped for. With the law staying the way it is, no one will want to become a whistleblower because there is little protection for them," he said.
The Witness and Victim Protection Agency (LPSK) had agreed to grant Susno protection at one of its safe houses after the former National Police chief of detectives claimed to have received death threats while in police custody.
The LPSK deemed Susno's testimony indispensable to uncover corruption inside law-enforcement agencies linked to their handling of a money-laundering and tax-evasion case against former tax official Gayus Tambunan.
Susno accused law enforcers of receiving bribes from Gayus in exchange for building a weaker case against him. Gayus was acquitted in March but has been rearrested after Susno's remarks. Gayus is again on trial, this time for bribing law enforcers.
Susno's remarks led to the arrest of two police officers, a judge at the Tangerang District Court and several others. The allegations also paved the way for reforms inside the Directorate General of Taxation. The National Police and the Attorney General's Office also demoted some of their officials in the scandal.
However, police have said they would not hand over Susno because he has been charged with accepting a Rp 500 million ($55,000) bribe to expedite a criminal investigation on behalf of a fish-farm owner in Riau, and also with embezzling Rp 3.8 billion from the West Java gubernatorial election security fund in 2008.