Constitutional Court to begin hearing Susno's judicial review request

The Constitutional Court will begin Friday hearing over a judicial review filed by former National Police chief detective Comr. Gen. Susno Duadji on Victim and Witness Protection Law.

The hearing is scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. at the court building in Jakarta.

The plaintiffs believe that Susno is a whistle-blower deserving a protection instead of detention as a suspect in a case Susno himself disclosed.

The effort was made after the Witness and Victims Protection Agency (LPSK) failed to get Susno out of police detention and into a safe house due to differences in interpretations of the law between the agency and police.

Susno’s lawyers requested the court to review Article 10 point 2 of the 2006 Victim and Witness Protection Law, saying it was not in line with the 1945 Constitution.

The point stipulates that a whistle-blower who is also a suspect in the same case cannot be freed from any legal charges.

Susno has been in trouble since he uncovered an alleged judiciary corruption centering on former tax official Gayus Tambunan, implicating tax officers, high-ranking police detectives, judges and prosecutors.

Susno also revealed alleged brokering during an investigation into an embezzlement case involving a fish-farming company in Riau.

The police, however, suspected that Susno himself was involved in the case brokerage and named him a suspect in May. National Police deputy chief detective Insp. Gen. Dikdik Maulana said there was no reason to worry about Susno’s safety.