| 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*** |
Senin, 23 Agustus 2010
HOUSE TO SUMMON MINISTER OVER REMISSIONS TO CORRUPTORS
| By Andi Abdussalam |
Jakarta, Aug 23 (ANTARA) - The House of Representatives (DPR) will soon ask for explanations from Law and Human Rights Minister Patrialis Akbar about the government's decision to grant sentence remissions to a number of convicted corruptors recently. "The House will soon ask for clarifications from the minister about the government's decision to grant remissions to certain convicted corruptors," Deputy House Speaker Pramono Anung said here on Monday. The House deputy speaker was referring to the release of several high profile corruption convicts after they received sentence cuts in connection with Independence Day on August 17. On August 18, 2010 Aulia Pohan, father-in-law of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's son and a former Bank Indonesia (BI or central bank) deputy governor was granted conditional freedom together with other BI deputies, namely Maman H Somantri, Bun Bunan Hutapea and Aslim Tajuddin. Aulia was sentenced to four years and six months by the Corruption Crime Court (Tipikor) in a Rp100 million fraud case of the Indonesian Banking Development Foundation (YPPI)funds Therefore, the House of representatives (DPR) should soon ask for explanations from Law and Human Rights Minister Patrialis Akbar regarding the sentence reductions for corruptors. According to Bambang Soesatyo of the House's Commission III on legal affairs, the remissions given to the convicted corruptors hurt the people's sense of justice. After all, the public could witness Aulia Pohan and friends having conditional freedom. "The minister has explained the remissions a lot to the press but for Commission III the explanations are not yet enough. We need more detailed explanations about the remissions provided for each of the jailed corruptors," Bambang Soesatyo said. He said that the public were questioning the government's seriousness in upholding the law in this country. The public trust had fallen into the lowest level. "There is no need for the president's aides to cover it up if the president has a role in this case. The statement that the president did not interfere in the conditional freedom would not all at once eliminate the public's perception and assumption," he said. He said that the remissions given by the government recently was an explicit injustice practice. Once injustice is practiced without shame, the government would have no right to expect public confidence in enforcing the law in this country. "How could the people expect justice if they clearly practice injustice", he questioned. He said that the government's commitment to upholding the law was already dead due to its remissions for convicted corruptors. Pramono Anung said that the practice was a bad precedent for law enforcement in Indonesia. President Susilo Bambang Yudhohono himself had declared war on corruption but now he has pardoned a big-time corruptor. He said it was the right of the law and human rights minister to give the remissions but in many cases he should be selective. "This includes businesswoman Artalyta Suryani or Ayin who received a two month sentence reduction for her "good conducts. This surprised the public," the former secretary general of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP) said. He also referred to the presidential pardon granted to former Kutai Kertanegara district head Syaukani Hasan Rais, which he said also constituted a bad precedent for legal enforcement. "The pardon was given to a corruptor who we all know was sentenced for a case involving a huge amount of money. The reason for the granting of the pardon is ill health, but we also know that there are many inmates whose health conditions are worse than that of Syaukani," he said. On the sentence cut given to Aulia Pohan, Pramono said the House also needed to question Minister Patrialis Akbar about it. "It should be examined because why the remission could be six months as if there was an effort to make the remission in such a away that Aulia would be able to enjoy freedom. It has become a big question by the public, though the president has denied any role, why he got six months while those in other cases only got one month," he said. Muhammadiyah Chairman Din Syamsuddin also advised the government not to give remissions or pardon to convicted corruptors. "The government must be sensitive to and consider its people's sufferings. Don't touch the people's sense of justice," he said in response to the release of some convicted corruptors. Providing convicted corruptors a remission or pardon was the president's prerogative right but he should also consider the people's sensitivity, Syamsuddin said. Indonesian people had considered corruption as an extraordinary crime against the state and nation. "At the moment, our people undergo such economic difficulties as skyrocketing prices of staple food," he said. A lot of ordinary Indonesians struggled for meeting their daily needs a head to the Eidul Fitri festivities in September, he said.***1*** |