Court rejects Pollycarpus case review annulment

Desy Nurhayati ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Fri, 07/18/2008 11:17 AM  |  National

Judges and witnesses on Thursday rejected a Constitutional Court review for Pollycarpus Budihari Priyanto, the Garuda pilot convicted of murdering rights activist Munir Said Thalib.

The Court heard testimonies by lawmakers and an expert witness for Pollycarpus at its second plenary session to review Article 23 of the 2004 law on judicial reviews.

Representatives for Pollycarpus told the hearing the article was unconstitutional and vague, thus violating the rights of the accused. They asked the Court to rule the article legally nonbinding.

The article stipulates related parties can file a case review with the Supreme Court under certain conditions.

"The words 'related parties' in the article pose legal uncertainties and violate our client's constitutional rights," said Idrus Mony, Pollycarpus' lawyer.

"It also runs counter to Article 28D of the Constitution, which guarantees equality before the law for everyone."

Expert witness Etty Utju Ruhayati said the article in question should clearly state which parties have the right to file a case review.

She referred to Article 263 of the Criminal Code, which stipulated only the accused or their heirs had the right to file a review.

However, testimonies from lawmakers and the judges' views overruled these arguments.

Nur Syamsi Nurlan, a legislator from the House of Representatives' Commission III, which oversees legal affairs, said the violation of Pollycarpus' constitutional rights had nothing to do with judicial authority as stated in the 2004 law.

"The issue is about the implementation of the law by the Supreme Court, not about the law itself," he said.

"The plaintiff's arguments are incorrect and baseless, considering Article 23 actually guarantees legal protection for all citizens, allowing them to file a case review with the Supreme Court," he said.

Judge Mahfud M.D. said the expert witness failed to prove any contradictions between the 2004 law and the Constitution.

"Based on the expert's explanation, we see no contradiction," he said.

He echoed Nurlan's views that "the problem was in the implementation of the law, not in the law itself".

Judge H.A.S. Natabaya said neither Article 23 of the 2004 law nor Article 263 of the Criminal Code contradicted the Constitution.

"We have to separate the two articles. Article 263 is only applicable in criminal cases, while Article 23 is applicable in any case," he said.

Pollycarpus is currently serving time in Sukamiskin Penitentiary in Bandung. The Supreme Court sentenced him to 20 years in prison after overturning its own verdict that previously acquitted the ex-pilot of Munir's murder.

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