Devi Asmarani, Jakarta – The jailed son of former president Suharto, Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra, said yesterday that he would not appeal against his 15-year jail sentence for masterminding a murder, because he would not get justice.

Tommy said that Indonesia's current political climate was not favourable for him and that his family's political opponents had made Indonesians hate him.

"Seeing that the condition is not in favour of me as a seeker of justice, with a heavy heart I have decided to pass on the chance to appeal," he said at a rare press conference inside the Cipinang prison.

Tommy runs the risk of a heavier sentence if he files an appeal which is later rejected by the higher court.

Last Friday, the South Jakarta District Court sentenced the 40-year-old billionnaire in absentia for the murder of a judge who, two years ago, had convicted him of graft. He was also convicted on two counts of illegal-weapons possession and fleeing from justice.

Tommy, who claimed to be sick in his cell when the verdict was read, said without elaborating yesterday that he would seek other legal avenues.

His lawyer Muhammad Assegaf said: "In the current political climate, the supremacy of law is absent, all considerations would be political, so we will have to plan another strategy." Legal experts said Tommy would likely ask for a presidential pardon, a move that might even free him from jail for a short period, at least.

Former deputy attorney-general Antonius Sujata told The Straits Times: "According to the law, a convicted person may ask for a presidential pardon and while waiting for the decision, he could file a plea to the District Court to delay his jail sentence.

"In this case, it would be up to the court to decide whether or not Tommy should be released." Such a move would be a repeat of what Tommy did two years ago, when the Supreme Court annulled the higher court's ruling and slapped him with an 18-month jail term for corruption.

When then president Abdurrahman Wahid refused to grant a pardon, Tommy fled before he was arrested.

Yesterday, he defended his decision to escape the jail sentence, saying he had been "traumatised" by the way the law was enforced in the country and that the escape was "my form of rebellion against the injustice I have had to suffer".

He also said that he had been pessimistic about winning his case in court, as he believed that there had been political intervention.

"From the beginning, it appeared that I had been targeted to receive a harsh punishment," he said, citing the fact that the judges, already busy with other high-profile cases, took only three days to reach a verdict.

Dressed in a cream shirt and black trousers, the healthy-looking Tommy held the press conference in the prison's meeting room with some of the prisoners looking on from behind a locked gate.

"I'm here for 30 years, but no one cares," yelled one of the prisoners. Tommy took no questions and guards led him away when he finished.

Earlier this week, he was photographed playing badminton in the compound, when a group of legislators dropped in to check on his prison conditions. They later said that his lavish jail cell was proof that he was receiving special treatment.