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Judicial mafia strikes back: Presidential taskforce

A recently-filed lawsuit that challenges the Judicial Mafia Taskforce's legal basis is an attempt by corrupt elements within the court system to "strike back", said taskforce secretary Denny Indrayana

The Jakarta Post
Jakarta
Fri, June 25, 2010

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Judicial mafia strikes back: Presidential taskforce

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recently-filed lawsuit that challenges the Judicial Mafia Taskforce's legal basis is an attempt by corrupt elements within the court system to "strike back", said taskforce secretary Denny Indrayana.

Disgruntled judicial system officials may be behind the judicial review request, which was filed by Petition 28, an activist group, at the Supreme Court on Tuesday, Denny said.

The lawsuit asks the court to invalidate Presidential Decree No. 37/2009, which established the Judicial Mafia Taskforce.

"This is just one effort to weaken and dismiss the taskforce," Denny said during a discussion at the Indonesian Survey Circle (LSI) office in Jakarta on Thursday.

The move is part of the judicial mafia's three-prong strategy to weaken efforts to eradicate rampant corruption in the country's law enforcement agencies, he said.

"First, they will file judicial review requests challenging the establishment of bodies charged with fighting judicial corruption."

The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) was the subject of at least eight similar judicial review requests at the Constitutional Court, he added.

The judicial mafia may also encourage the House of Representatives to revise and weaken the laws regarding the authority of such corruption eradication bodies, Denny said.

"It happened to the State Officials' Wealth Audit Commission *in 2004*. The House changed its legal basis and then the commission disappeared."

The judicial mafia will also seek to criminalize the leaders of anti-corruption bodies, as is currently happening to the KPK deputies Bibit Samad Rianto and Chandra M. Hamzah, Denny said.

The taskforce is still needed to bolster the fight against judicial corruption since the prose-cutors' office and police have shown no significant progress, Indo-nesian Corruption Watch (ICW) coordinator Danang Widyoko said.

ICW no longer files corruption complaints with the prosecutors' office or police because the law enforcement bodies rarely followed up on the ICW's previous complaints, he added.

The taskforce has the right to oversee all of Indonesia's law enforcement agencies and to monitor ongoing criminal investigations, Danang told reporters after the discussion.

"Its existence is still important," he added.

The appeal is supported by SETARA Institute, a civil society organization.

A representative said the taskforce would interfere with law enforcement and not help legal reforms. (rdf)

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