Jakarta – A decision to replace three Anticorruption Court judges after they ruled Supreme Court Chief Justice Bagir Manan should testify in a graft trial is unfair and irregular, a lawyer and antigraft activist says.
Three non-career judges, Akhmad Linoh, Dudu Duswara and I Made Hendra Kusuma, have boycotted the graft trial of lawyer Harini Wijoso since May 3.
That day, presiding judge Kresna Menon overruled a 3-2 vote by the panel of judges that Bagir be made to testify as a witness in a trial, which implicates him and other court officials. The three judges walked out after Kresna ignored Anticorruption Court rules, which bound him to accept the majority decision.
Harini's trial has stalled since, with the three judges refusing to attend five more scheduled hearings.
A spokeswoman for the Central Jakarta District Court, where the Anticorruption Court is based, said the three judges would be replaced by new non-career judges, Slamet Subagyo, Sofialdi and Ugo, who were appointed by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on June 10.
Transparency International Indonesia head and lawyer Todung Mulya Lubis said the decision showed the influence the Supreme Court wielded in the justice system.
"I cannot understand the logic behind this. If (the court) wants to be fair, all five judges who failed to reach an agreement should be replaced," Lubis told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.
Court monitoring body the Judicial Commission recently recommended the district court suspend Kresna for a year because he ignored the majority decision of the panel. However, that recommendation has not been acted on.
Harini stands accused of attempting to bribe Bagir in 2003 to favor her client, business tycoon Probosutedjo. She had earlier filed an appeal to the Supreme Court against Probosutedjo's four-year conviction for a Rp 100.9 billion (about US$11,000) graft case. Probosutedjo made bribery allegations against Bagir and other Supreme Court officials after the court rejected his appeal.
Todung said whoever replaced the three judges would face the same dilemma – they had to decide whether requiring Bagir to testify was necessary. "If the new judges also disagree with the presiding judge (Kresna), will these judges have to be replaced again?" he said. People would start asking what was wrong with the justice system, Todung said.
He said the trial documents stated clearly that Bagir was on the lists of witnesses that could be called to testify. Prosecutors in the trial have accused Harini of asking Probosutedjo for Rp 5 billion to bribe Bagir in 2003.
District court spokesman Ridwan Mansyur said the Criminal Code allowed the court to replace judges if they failed to appear in court. "We were more worried about the case being dropped," said Ridwan. He said Kresna would decide on a new trial schedule for Harini within a week.
Legal activist Hendardi said that the real problem lay within the Supreme Court. "The Supreme Court chief justice (Bagir) holds too much authority. He recently re-elected himself as court chief and (has power because he) can extend judges' retirement ages," he said.