Jakarta – A plan by Indonesia's attorney general to appeal against the Supreme Court's controversial acquittal of Tommy Suharto came under fire Friday. An analyst described the move as a cosmetic exercise rather than a genuine attempt to seek justice in the case of the former dictator's fugitive son. Experts said such an appeal is legally impossible.
On Monday three supreme court judges, overturning an earlier verdict by other supreme court judges, ruled that Tommy was not guilty of corruption over an 11-million-dollar land swap between his supermarket chain and the State Logistics Agency (Bulog).
It quashed his 18-month jail sentence but Tommy remains in hiding. Police have accused him of ordering the assassination of one of the judges who originally sentenced him and of involvement in a series of bombings in recent years.
Critics said Monday's ruling eroded what little faith is left in the justice system. The attorney general's office said it would demand that the supreme court reviews its acquittal.
But legal experts quoted by Friday's Jakarta Post said this is impossible. "There is no legal basis for the attorney general's office to file a review against an edict issued in response to a review request submitted by a convict," said Abdul Hakim Garuda Nusantara.
Abdul Hakim said controversy over cases against ex-president Suharto and his family members, who have been accused of massive corruption during his 32-year rule, would continue as long as the government and legal authorities were not committed to resolving them. He questioned why state prosecutors investigated the supermarket case in the first place. "There are so many other cases which could be used to bring Tommy to court," Abdul Hakim said. "I do not blame the justices for clearing Tommy of corruption charges because that particular case was very weak," he said.
Critics of Monday's ruling said Tommy had earlier implicitly admitted his guilt in the corruption case by unsuccessfully seeking a presidential pardon. Law professor Achmad Ali said the supreme court could not legally reopen a case after a presidential pardon had been sought. Another review filed by the attorney general's office would also have no legal basis, he said, but "it is at least consistent to challenge some weird things with more weird things."
Nizam Idris, analyst with IDEAglobal.com, said the government did not indicate it was considering an appeal until it came under heavy public criticism. "They decided to lodge an appeal only after it became quite obvious that investors were not very happy about what happened, but the damage had already been done," he told AFX-Asia, an AFP-owned financial newswire.
Vickers Ballas analyst Wiwan Wiradjaja said investors are sceptical about any appeal succeeding. "The market is already very disappointed with the news that Tommy was acquitted, so I think the attorney general is just trying to please those voices that have been saying there's no legal certainty in Indonesia," he said.
Former millionaire playboy Tommy, 39, was the only Suharto family member to be convicted of corruption. His father is charged with embezzling some 571 million dollars of state funds but court officials say he is medically unfit to face trial.