Chicken comes home to roost: Attorney General Basrief Arief holds up a photograph at the AGO office in Jakarta on Friday showing the surrender of Comr
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Susno, who had been on the run for more than a week since prosecutors failed to arrest him, has finally been put behind bars at Cibinong Penitentiary in West Java.
Four prosecutors took the former police general into custody on Thursday night at around 11:10 p.m, Attorney General Basrief Arief told a press conference on Friday.
The Supreme Court issued a cassation ruling in November last year, finding Susno guilty of corruption and upholding his three-and-a-half-year sentence.
However, Susno refused to be imprisoned, arguing that the cassation was null and void as it did not include an execution order. He also insisted that the high court ruling had procedural flaws, including an incorrect verdict number.
Supreme Court Chief Justice Hatta Ali dismissed Susno's arguments as nothing but excuses to evade jail.
Basrief explained that a man named Untung Sunaryo, who claimed to be a lawyer for Susno's family, met Basrief on Thursday afternoon at around 2:30 p.m. 'He informed me that Susno was willing to surrender, but only to prosecutors assigned by the Attorney General's Office,' Basrief said.
According to Basrief, when Susno arrived at the prison, the four selected prosecutors were waiting for him. 'No one was informed about the implementation process,' Basrief said, adding that Susno had been cooperative.
The attorney general later thanked all parties for their support, saying that he also appreciated the support of Susno's family.
'At around 11:30 p.m. Susno was incarcerated in Cibinong Penitentiary soon after the administrative process was completed,' said Basrief, who later showed reporters pictures of Susno signing the papers.
Susno's surrender surprised many, including his lawyer, as he had been adamant in rejecting the court ruling and calling the AGO's move to arrest him illegal.
On Monday, Susno appeared on a short video uploaded to YouTube, mocking the AGO, which failed to apprehend him in Bandung, West Java, recently.
Susno said he was still in Bandung and insisted that his decision to protect his liberty was part of his effort to uphold justice.
'Why was I not involved? I should have been notified if he decided to surrender,' Susno's lawyer, Fredrich Yunadi, said.
Jakarta Prosecutor's Office head Didiek Darmanto said Susno told the four prosecutors he had never tried to flee and that his move proved that he was abiding by the law.
'Susno also said that although the ruling has opened room for various interpretations, he was willing to undergo what the court ordered,' Didiek said. 'Susno also advised against pitting the police against prosecutors.'
The Supreme Court expressed appreciation for Susno's move. 'We are glad that Susno has a big heart to accept the execution of the verdict,' court spokesman Ridwan Mansyur said.
According to Didiek, Susno was likely to request a case review in a final bid to have the ruling overturned.
Islam-based Crescent Star Party (PBB) secretary-general BM Wibowo said it was about time that Susno abided by the law.
Wibowo added that his party would first wait for the result of the verification of legislative candidates by the General Elections Commission before deciding Susno's fate as one of PBB's legislative candidates to represent West Java I electoral district.
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