Supreme Court Chief Justice Hatta Ali called on former National Police detectivesâ chief Comr
upreme Court Chief Justice Hatta Ali called on former National Police detectives' chief Comr. Gen. (ret.) Susno Duadji, who has been sentenced to a prison term for graft, to stop making excuses and go to jail.
'As a good citizen, he must obey the law and accept the verdict,' Hatta said on Wednesday. 'His defiance only harms his credibility.'
Susno, who has been officially declared a fugitive after refusing to be put behind bars when a group of prosecutors came to arrest him, has repeatedly said his detention would be unlawful as the Supreme Court's verdict against him was legally flawed. His lawyers argue that the verdict did not specifically order the Attorney General's Office (AGO) to send him to prison.
Hatta said the cassation ruling did not need to include execution or restraining order as it only upheld the lower court's ruling. 'It was final and binding once we handed it over to the executors, in this case, the prosecutors. They must enforce it.'
In March 2011, Susno was found guilty of taking bribes during the investigation of the PT Salmah Arowana Lestari (SAL) investment scam, and misappropriating election security funds.
The South Jakarta District Court sentenced him to three-and-a-half years in prison and ordered him to serve his prison term immediately. However, Susno remained free as he filed an appeal to the Jakarta High Court, which eventually turned it down in November 2011.
Former chief justice Harifin Tumpa concurred with Hatta, saying that the former police general had no legal grounds to refute the legality of the court's verdict. 'Every person who is cornered looks for an excuse,' he said, 'but no one can overturn a final and binding ruling.'
According to Hatta, the administrative errors were not a major issue and did not necessarily render either the cassation or the high court ruling void. However, the chief justice said he had ordered the court's staff to be more careful in producing documents to avoid unnecessary debate over the legality of the court's rulings. 'We've learned from this small mistake. We are now closing such loopholes,' he said.
Having said that, the verdict was clear enough to be executed, Hatta said, and the court would not issue an explanation to clarify whether or not Susno should be jailed.
Meanwhile, the authorities are still searching for Susno, who has gone missing following the failed attempt by the prosecutors to take him to prison last week.
The National Police, which are currently supporting the AGO in their efforts to arrest Susno, revealed that they 'have deployed a cyber-crime team to analyze a Susno video on YouTube'.
On Monday, Susno appeared on a short video uploaded to YouTube, mocking the AGO which failed to apprehend him in Bandung, West Java. Susno said that he was still in Bandung and insisted that his decision to remain on the run was part of his effort to uphold justice.
Police spokesperson Sr. Comr. Agus Rianto also said that the police had begun exchanging their investigation results with the AGO. Agus, however, declined to confirm whether they had located Susno.
Meanwhile, Susno's lawyer Frederich Yunadi suggested that Susno made the video only to defend his innocence. 'Maybe he wanted to show that he has not fled. He only thwarted the confrontation [with the prosecutors],' Frederich said after a meeting with the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) on Tuesday.
During the meeting, Frederich filed a report with Komnas HAM against the prosecutors who attempted to detain Susno in Bandung, claiming that the prosecutors had no right to arrest Susno due to the administrative flaws in the court ruling.
He also criticized the prosecutors for bringing a gang of men resembling thugs and wearing military-style clothing to Susno's house in Bandung in order to intimidate him.
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