More heads roll over fishy Nazaruddin jailhouse visit

The Law and Human Rights Ministry has fired three more officials for allowing graft suspect M. Nazaruddin an unauthorized visit from his brother, lawmaker Muhammad Nasir, while in detention at Cipinang Penitentiary last week.

“We have dismissed the ministry’s Jakarta regional office head [Tawin Tarib], the regional office penitentiary division head [Hafiluddin] and Cipinang Penitentiary warden [Suharman],” Law and Human Rights Minister Amir Syamsuddin told a press conference at his office in Jakarta on Sunday.

Prison security chief Fonika Affandi was fired on Friday.

The visit took place late on Feb. 8 when Nasir, who sits on House Commission III overseeing law, and six companions, including lawyers Jufri Taufik and Arief Rahman, were spotted on a closed circuit television camera (CCTV) while talking with Nazaruddin inside his cell.

Rahman represents Mindo Rosalina Manulang, who has been implicated in the same graft case involving Nazaruddin.

Deputy Law and Human Rights Minister Denny Indrayana made an unannounced visit to Cipinang Penitentiary after he saw the meeting on CCTV at 8 p.m. on the same day.

Nasir, a member of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s Democratic Party, reportedly made his way into the cell by using his clout as a lawmaker.

Nasir was not one of 16 Commission III lawmakers given ministry passes to inspect penitentiaries, Amir said.

Denny added that the visit was clearly a contravention of regulation and procedure, as Nasir failed to give any prior notification to the ministry before the visit.

“There are standard operation procedures at the penitentiary. The visiting hours last until 3:30 p.m., while Nasir still was still in the cell at 9 p.m.,” Denny said at the press briefing.

Denny said that there were additional “suspicious visits” on Dec. 25 and Dec. 30 according to Nazaruddin’s visitor log book.

The substance of the conversation between Nazaruddin and Nasir was unknown, Denny said.

On tightening security after the incident, Amir mentioned establishing a special penitentiary for corruptors and corruption suspects as a needed next step.

“We are preparing a special penitentiary for corruption convicts who will be separated from the other, regular convicts,” he said.

In April 2010, then law and human rights minister Patrialis Akbar inaugurated work on the country’s first prison for corruption convicts near Cipinang Penitentiary.

The minister also said that officials would implement other policies, such as optimizing CCTV monitoring at the prison, improving training for penitentiary officials, making all penitentiaries in Jakarta bribery free, as well as conducting routine evaluation meetings.

Commission III lawmakers had earlier defended Nasir’s visit, saying it was legal and that the commission had made an agreement with the ministry to grant access to lawmakers to visit penitentiaries whenever they wished.

Nazaruddin is standing trial for corruption connected to the construction of the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games athletes’ village in Palembang, South Sumatra.

His case has also implicated Democratic Party legislator Angelina Sondakh, who was ousted as party deputy secretary-general.

Angelina was named a suspect by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) on Feb. 3.

She was a member of the House budget committee, which approved the budget for construction projects for the SEA Games in 2011.

Angelina has also been alleged to have sent illicit money to Democratic Party chairman Anas
Urbaningrum. (rpt)