| By Andi Abdussalam |
Jakarta, Aug 21 (ANTARA) - A total of 108,376 inmates have been granted sentence reduction on the occasion of the country's 67th independence anniversary on August 17, as well as during the Id-ul-Fitr post-fasting festivities this week. Of them, 58,595 prisoners were granted sentence reduction on the occasion of Indonesian Independence Day, while the rest 49,781 saw their sentences cut on Id-ul Fitr. General remission is divided into General Remission I and General Remission II. Inmates who get General Remission I have their jail term commuted, while those who get General Remission II can walk free. There is also a 'Special Remission', consisting of Special Remission I and Special Remission II, which is granted to prisoners who either had their sentences commuted or were to be freed from prison. Of the 56,349 prisoners who were granted sentence cuts, 2,246 got General Remission II. Meanwhile, of the 49,781 granted special remission, 793 got Special Remission II. "A total of 58,595 people's jail terms have been reduced on Independence Day. However, a slightly fewer number of prisoners have had their sentences reduced on the Id-ul-Fitr," Justice and Human Rights Minister Amir Syamsuddin said at the Cipinang Penitentiary in East Jakarta, ahead of the Independence Day celebrations last week. The minister noted that the general and special remissions were granted on the basis of government regulation No. 32/1999 on the Terms and Procedures for Implementation of the Rights of Inmates, as well as of Presidential decree No. 174/1999 on Sentences Reduction. For corruption convicts, remission is regulated through government regulation No. 28/2006 which came into effect after the amendment of government regulation No. 32/1999. "As per government regulation No. 28/2006, their sentences will be cut by six months if they have exhibited good behaviour," Syamsuddin noted. A total of 153,246 people, comprising 50,275 prisoners and 102,971 inmates, were locked up in prisons throughout Indonesia until August 2012. In the meantime, more than half --1,276 of 2,336 -- inmates of the Nusakambangan penitentiary were granted sentence cuts, including 32 who walked out free from the country's largest penitentiary, on the occasion of the country's Independence Day. The penitentiary of Nusakambangan, an island situated a few miles south of Cilacap in southern coast of Central Java, is notorious for housing criminals convicted of serious offenses, such as murderers and corruption and drug convicts. "Among the inmates are 53 death-row prisoners and 74 convicts serving life imprisonment," said Hermawan Yulianto, the head of the penitentiary. Inmates who were given sentence remissions include Indonesian nationals as well as foreigners. In the Indonesian island resort of Bali, for example, the prison term for Australian drug convict Schapelle Leigh Corby was reduced by six months. "Corby has received a six-month remission, along with fellow convict and Australian national Rene Lawrence," Minister Amir Syamsuddin said. The minister also pointed out that the remission given to Corby was no different from the sentence cuts granted to other inmates, ¿which were granted on grounds of good behaviour at the correction centres¿. "Corby's name will be removed from the remission recipient list if we receive a note of complaint from the correction centre," Syamsuddin stated. "Remission is every inmate's right and should certainly not be used for discrimination, as per government regulation (PP) No. 28/2006, laid down in the Terms and Procedures for Implementation of the Rights of Inmates," he added. Other foreign inmates whose prison terms were cut on Independence Day include Peter Achim Franz Grabmann from Germany, Jean Marc Patrice Garcia from France, and Malaysian national Lem Tian Soon Tian, all of whom were granted a two-month reduction in their sentences. In addition, Gary Matin Turner from Great Britain and Mohammed Umar Ranggaswamy from India were granted a four-month remission. Some corruption convicts also saw their sentences commuted. Dedi Sutardi, the chief of the Sukamiskin detention centre in West Java, said the government had ordered a reduction in the sentences of corruption convict Gayus Tambunan and murder convict Pollycarpus Budihari Priyanto, who are currently lodged at the Sukamiskin detention centre. He added that Tambunan, who was convicted in a tax corruption and bribery case during his stint as a junior tax officer, had been granted a three-month remission ahead of Independence Day and an additional one-month reduction in his sentence before Id-ul-Fitr. Meanwhile the sentence of Priyanto, who was sentenced to 20 years in jail for murdering human rights activist Munir, was reduced by five months on the occasion of Independence Day and another one month and 20 days for working as an assistant to an officer at the detention centre. Some inmates, such those in Paledang Penitentiary of Bogor West Java, not only saw their sentences being commuted, but also had their pockets filled with monetary rewards,. Inmates who were granted sentence reduction were also awarded with a "kedeudeuh" (prize) of Rp100,000 each. The monetary awards were provided by the Mayor Diani Budiarto. Bogor Regional Government Spokesman Asep Firdaus said on Monday that the mayor provided Rp100,000 for each of the 452 inmates who were granted sentence cuts on the occasion of the country¿s independence anniversary. On them, 30 inmates enjoyed General Remission II and walked free. "Inmates who got General Remission II can use the money to pay for their trip home to reunite with their families," the mayor said.***3*** |
Selasa, 21 Agustus 2012
OVER 100,000 PRISONERS GET SENTENCE CUTS
GOVT CRITICIZED FOR REDUCING JAIL TERMS OF CORRUPTION CONVICTS
| By Andi Abdussalam |
Jakarta, Aug 21 (ANTARA) - The government's decision to commute the jail terms of 583 persons convicted on corruption charges and letting 32 others walk free after being pardoned on the country's 67th Independence Day anniversary, has been criticized by the public, including an anti-graft commissioner and a university professor. Gayur Tambunan, who has been sentenced for 30 years for taking a US$7 million bribe while he was a tax official, has received a four-month sentence cut, which includes a three month reduction on Independence Day and a one-month special remission owing to Id-ul Fitr. "Such a decision needs to be properly reviewed in the future," Zulkarnaen, the deputy chief of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) said on Sunday. Legislator Bambang Soesatyo of the House of Representatives (DPR)'s Commission III on Legal Affairs, and Prof. Norsanie Darlan of the University of Palangkaraya (Unpar) of Central Kalimantan also agreed with Zulkarnaen. The government has been criticized for its policy of reducing jail terms of corruption convicts, as such a grant is not considered comparable with the actual crime committed by the convict. What has also elicited a strong public reaction against the four-month cutback in Tambunan's sentence is the government taking such a step despite his attempted and briefly successful bid to escape prison. Every year, the government grants two kinds of remissions to offenders who have served at least one-third of the duration of their total prison sentence. These include the general sentence reduction announced on Independence Day and the special sentence cutback granted on Idul-Fitr. A convict can also get a six-month reprieve if he or she has spent more than six years in prison. Reacting to this provision Zulkarnaen, said he hopes that law makers and the government will reconsider these regulations and amend existing laws relating to remissions for convicts. Prof Darlan described the process as unfair and an exercise in self-defeat. ¿Corruption convicts deserve no remissions,¿ he said, adding that cutting jail terms in this manner will hardly discourage members of the public from indulging in corrupt practices. He also accused the government of betraying the public¿s trust and faith in justice, adding that he was in favor of reducing jail sentences, but not for persons who have been convicted for corruption. Expressing concern over the four-month sentence cut given to Tambunan, Soesatyo said that such a remission will have further implications. "It will eliminate any discouraging effects of legal sanction related to committing crime. Therefore, one should not be surprised if individuals working at the directorate general of tax are motivated to embezzle taxes, because they will do so assuming that they will be punished leniently,¿ the outspoken legislator said. He also stated his disappointment with the government for not wanting to classify tax embezzlement as an extraordinary crime that deserves the highest legal punishment possible. "If Tambunan's sentence is remitted, then the Ministry of Law and Human Rights does not deserve its name, and I hope it is not approached by legal mafia for getting similar pardons in the future,¿ Soesatyo stressed. Meanwhile, Law and Human Rights Minister Amir Syamsuddin was quoted by The Jakarta Globe on Monday saying that the Indonesian government plans to tighten regulations governing sentence cuts for corruption convicts before next year's Idul Fitr festival. "The rationalization of remissions cannot be implemented yet, but 'inshallah' (God willing) it can be done next year," Syamsuddin stated. Under current regulations, graft convicts become eligible for sentence cuts if they have served one-third of their sentence. However, the proposed changes will require them to serve at least half of their sentence, before they become eligible for reductions. The minister also pointed out that granting general remission to inmates has been an annual tradition, regardless of the type of crime they have committed. Sentence cuts for corruption convicts are regulated through government regulation no. 28 / 2006, which is an amended version of government regulation no. 32/1999. "The government is still in the process of revising government regulation no. 28 /2006. We are trying to harmonize it with other relevant parameters," Syamsuddin said. This is why general and special remissions were distributed equally amongst all convicts on Independence Day and Idul Fitr this year. Corruption, narcotics and terrorist convicts received the same remissions, he added. Sihabuddin, the Director General of the Correctional Institute also said that jail term cutbacks given this year were based on government regulation no. 28 /2006. "We still use government regulation no. 28/2006, as the draft for an amended regulation has been submitted to the president," he said. A total of 108,376 inmates received sentence reductions on the country¿s 67th Independence Day on August 17 and on the Id-ul Fitr holiday. As of August 2012, a total of 153,246 persons, which include 50,275 prisoners and 102,971 inmates were locked up in jails and prisons across Indonesia. ***3*** |