Camelia Pasandaran, Farouk Arnaz, Ulma Haryanto & Amir Tejo – High-profile graft suspect Muhammad Nazaruddin is not convinced he will get a fair trial in Indonesia so would prefer to face justice in Singapore, his lawyer said on Friday.
"I had a conversation with Nazaruddin at around 2 a.m.," said Otto Cornelius Kaligis, his lawyer. "He said the case against him didn't make any sense. He plans to hire lawyers from Singapore.
"If his lawyers in Singapore believe he will face an unfair trial, [the allegations] can be brought to the courts in Singapore."
Otto said that the Singaporean justice system allowed foreign suspects to request a review of the charges brought by their own country, and such a principle was internationally accepted.
Nazaruddin believed the case against him had been manufactured by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), Otto said, and that was why he had chosen to stay in Singapore. He said Nazaruddin knew from the beginning that he would face a travel ban, be summoned as a witness and named a suspect.
"Nazaruddin told me, 'You will no longer be my lawyer but rather my witness, because I will hire Singaporean lawyers. I will lodge a case saying that the KPK selectively targeted me while I continue to stay in Singapore,' " Otto said. Nazarudidn also believed that Indonesian courts would conduct a trial in absentia in an attempt to convict him, he added.
Otto said there was no way that Indonesian law enforcers could arrest Nazaruddin in the city-state. "They have no authority to make an arrest," he said. "If they do so, they will be held by Singaporean officials because it is a matter of security."
The KPK has charged Nazaruddin, former treasurer of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's Democratic Party, under the Anti-Corruption Law, alleging he was involved in bribery relating to the construction of the athletes' village for the SEA Games in Palembang – He could face life in prison if convicted.
Bambang Irawan, head of the Immigration Office, said Nazaruddin's passport had been blacklisted in all Indonesian offices across the world since a travel ban was issued on May 24. Even though the ban came a day after Nazaruddin left Indonesia, Bambang said it would make it difficult for Nazaruddin to extend his stay in Singapore.
"He is now in a foreign country with an [illegal passport]," Bambang said. "He does not have a residential permit and must leave the country."
Meanwhile, M Jasin, KPK deputy chairman, said the commission would do everything in its power to restrict Nazaruddin's mobility, including revoking his passport.
National Police Chief Gen. Timur Pradopo said police were fully behind the KPK's efforts to arrest Nazaruddin. "We will do everything [we can] to bring him home to face justice," he said. "We are helping the KPK by coordinating closely with international law enforcement agencies."
He claimed police knew where Nazarudin was hiding, but refused to provide details, given that the hunt was still ongoing. "I don't want to talk about it. But we know where he is," he said.
Asked whether police had been sent to Singapore, Timur called for patience. "We are trying as fast as we can to bring him to KPK investigators."
Presidential spokesman Julian Pasha said on Friday that Yudhoyono had ordered the National Police to search for, arrest and bring Nazaruddin back home from Singapore. It was important to make this information public, Julian said, to counter the perception that Yudhoyono had not paid attention to the case.
"The president, as the head of the party's supervisory board, always ensures that all Democratic Party members are clean and not involved in corruption," he said. "Members who are proven to be guilty should face legal proceedings, no special treatment."