Council speaker acquitted in fraud case

PURWOKERTO, Central Java: Banyumas regency legislature speaker Suherman was acquitted in a fraud case in which he was alleged to have forged his junior high school graduation certificate.

Suherman's lawyer Paulus Gunadi, who announced the Supreme Court verdict in Purwokerto on Tuesday to the media, said his side had received a copy of the verdict from the Purwokerto District Court.

"With this, Suherman's good name must be rehabilitated because he is innocent," said Paulus, adding the verdict was issued following the acceptance by the Supreme Court of a judicial review proposed in January.

Suherman was accused of forging his junior high school certificate in 2004 as he was seeking a seat at the regency council for the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P). The Central Java Education Agency declared the certificate a fake, and by extension deemed his senior high school certificate also unlawful.

Suherman took the case to court, which later saw him sentenced to three months in jail in 2006. At that time, he was already a councilor and had been elected council speaker.

He appealed to the higher court but was turned down and sentenced to another four months in jail in 2007. This time, he appealed to the Supreme Court, but was again rejected and had another four months slapped on to his sentence in March.

He was fired as PDI-P Banyumas chairman but secured his position as council speaker. He finally proposed a judicial review to the Supreme Court in January and won the case.

"I'm relieved," Suherman said of Tuesday's verdict. - JP