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Police win case against Susno
Former National Police chief detective Comr
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F
ormer National Police chief detective Comr. Gen. Susno Duadji on Monday failed to avoid police detention after a Jakarta district court favored the police in a lawsuit filed by Susno to challenge his detention.
South Jakarta District Court judge Haswandi said that the police had followed the Criminal Code Procedure.
"The decision to arrest and place Susno in police custody was made in regard to the possibility that Susno may jeopardize the whole investigation process," he said.
Haswandi said at the hearing that he had not noted any police violations during the legal process.
The ruling means that the police will continue to detain Susno at the Mobile Brigade headquarters in Depok, West Java.
One of Susno's attorney's, Zul Armain Azis, said that Haswandi had favored the police in his ruling and that Susno would appeal to the Constitutional Court.
"We will file an appeal with the Jakarta High Court on today's ruling, and we will also seek a legal settlement with the Constitutional Court in regards to the dispute between the Witness and Victim Protection Agency *LPSK* and the police," he said.
Zul said the suit would ask the courts to resolve conflicting claims of authority over Susno made by police and the LPSK.
Susno asked for witness protection from the LPSK so he could leave police detention, according to reports.
The agency has officially placed Susno in its protection program and wants to keep him in its safe house. The police, however, refused to comply with this request.
Susno is more of a suspect than he is a witness, National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Edward Aritonang said.
"Police detectives have the authority to detain a suspect. LPSK has the authority to protect witnesses and victims," he said.
LPSK chairman Abdul Haris Semendawai said that he has a different point of view.
"We know Pak Susno is a suspect whom the police have the authority to detain, but at the same time, he is also a witness whom we have the right to protect."
LPSK, which was established in 2008, has never placed in witness protection a person who was also detained by the police.
Susno entered the spotlight after he made public an alleged Rp 24-billion (US$ 2.6 million) case of corruption involving former tax official Gayus Tambunan that implicated senior police officers, state prosecutors, lawyers and businesspeople.
A member of the National Police Commission, Adnan Pandu Pradja, said that the LPSK and police have chosen the Constitutional Court as their "battlefield".
Constitutional Court justice Akil Mochtar said the court welcomed the lawsuit.
"We'll try it in accordance with the 1945 Constitution."
