Apriadi Gunawan, Medan – Two judges and seven prosecutors were questioned Monday over the controversial acquittal of logging boss Adelin Lis on illegal logging charges.
Chief of the Medan District Court, Arwan Byrin, who presided over Adelin's trial, and his deputy Robinson Tarigan, who was among the five judges involved in the trial, were questioned by three judges from the North Sumatra High Court behind closed-doors Monday.
Three other judges – Jarasmen Purba, Dolman Sinaga and Ahmad Semma – were questioned Friday.
Head of the three-judge team from the high court, Elsa Mutiara Napitupulu, said the questioning was conducted professionally and the results would be conveyed to the Supreme Court.
"The questioning is still ongoing and the results are not yet known," she said, adding they would also question district court staff involved in Adelin's trial.
Another judge from the high court, Aspar Siagian, said the Supreme Court had ordered the questioning of the district court judges and staff in response to the controversy surrounding the acquittal of Adelin. "The questioning is meant to determine whether the judges handling the case followed the existing laws or not," said Aspar.
In addition to questioning the judges, he said the team would also study the Nov. 5 verdict and examine the records of the court proceedings throughout the trial.
"If they are proven to have violated the code of ethics, the judges will be given punishments, ranging from being downgraded in rank, having their titles as judges revoked and dismissal. It depends on the Supreme Court," Aspar said.
Both Arwan Byrin and Robinson Tarigan declined to comment on the questioning.
The questioning of the district court judges comes amid reports the Supreme Court promoted four of the five judges from Adelin's case to posts outside Medan. Aspar said the results of the questioning would determine whether or not these promotions would be revoked.
Also on Monday, a three-member team from the Attorney General's Office questioned seven prosecutors involved in Adelin's trial and examined the case file for the logging boss.
Meanwhile, North Sumatra Police said that Adelin, who has not been seen since his acquittal, was still in the province and had not gone abroad. Adelin was originally apprehended on Sept. 7 last year in Beijing.
Police say they want to question him over his alleged role in a money laundering case, which a police source said was connected to the earlier corruption and illegal logging charges. North Sumatra Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Aspan Nainggolan said Monday police sources had confirmed Adelin was still in the province.
"But we don't know when we can capture him since he keeps moving from one place to another," Aspan told the Post. He urged people to contact police with any information on Adelin's whereabouts in return for a cash reward.