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Judicial Commission appeals to Jokowi
In their defense: Judicial Commission members Taufiqurrohman Syahuri (left) and Imam Anshori Saleh insist during a media briefing in Jakarta on Sunday that the institutionâs criticism of a judgeâs verdict constitute their constitutional job
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In their defense: Judicial Commission members Taufiqurrohman Syahuri (left) and Imam Anshori Saleh insist during a media briefing in Jakarta on Sunday that the institutionâs criticism of a judgeâs verdict constitute their constitutional job. Syahuri and commission chief Suparman Marzuki have been named suspects for criticizing a judgeâs controversial ruling.(JP/Wendra Ajistyatama) (left) and Imam Anshori Saleh insist during a media briefing in Jakarta on Sunday that the institutionâs criticism of a judgeâs verdict constitute their constitutional job. Syahuri and commission chief Suparman Marzuki have been named suspects for criticizing a judgeâs controversial ruling.(JP/Wendra Ajistyatama)
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span class="inline inline-center">In their defense: Judicial Commission members Taufiqurrohman Syahuri (left) and Imam Anshori Saleh insist during a media briefing in Jakarta on Sunday that the institution's criticism of a judge's verdict constitute their constitutional job. Syahuri and commission chief Suparman Marzuki have been named suspects for criticizing a judge's controversial ruling.(JP/Wendra Ajistyatama)
A member of the Judicial Commission has called on President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo to come to the aid of commission chairman Suparman Marzuki and deputy chairman Taufiqurrohman Syahuri, who have been named suspects by the National Police in a defamation case.
Imam Anshori said the naming of his two fellow commissioners had disrupted the work of the Judicial Commission, adding that the police move could create fear among other watchdog agencies.
The case involves comments the commissioners made in relation to the performance of a judge who ruled in favor of deputy National Police chief Comr. Gen. Budi Gunawan in a pretrial hearing in February.
Imam said Suparman and Taufiqurrohman had not defamed South Jakarta District Court Sarpin Rizaldi personally, but merely criticized his controversial ruling, an act that he said was within the remit of the two commissioners given their roles as leaders of a state agency in charge of supervising judges across the country
'This [request] may not be directly related to the President, but we hope we can bring the case to his attention and he can to take action in regard to the matter,' Imam said on Sunday.
Imam also said a number of lawyers as well as political parties had voiced support for the commission following the police's move.
'The Democratic Party has expressed concern that such a move is not appropriate. The PPP [United Development Party] and the PKB [National Awakening Party] have also deplored the move,' Imam said, adding that the Judicial Commission would provide legal assistance for Suparman and Taufiqurrohman to face their legal battle.
In February, Sarpin made headlines when he ruled that the Corruption Eradication Commission's (KPK) probe into Budi was 'illegitimate'. The ruling forced the KPK to transfer Budi's probe to the Attorney General's Office (AGO), which later sent the dossier to the National Police.
Sarpin's ruling was condemned by legal experts and former Supreme Court justices, as well as the Judicial Commission, because at that time the Criminal Law Procedures Code (KUHAP) did not stipulate that citizens had the right to file a pretrial plea to challenge their legal status in criminal cases.
Sarpin moved to file a defamation report with the National Police's Criminal Investigations Directorate (Bareskrim) in March alleging that statements Suparman and Taufiqurrohman had made in the media had tarnished his good name.
Taufiqurrohman has denied that he defamed Sarpin in his media remarks. 'I said that judge Sarpin's ruling exceeded what had been regulated under the KUHAP. It is controversial and drew the attention of the public for the wrong reasons. That is what I said. I always used the term 'ruling' in my statements [rather than referring to Sarpin as an individual],' Taufiqurrohman said.
Separately, Jimly Asshiddiqie, a member of the now-defunct independent team tasked by Jokowi to resolve the standoff between the KPK and the National Police in January, deplored the police's move against the commission, which has occurred after the situation had seemingly returned to normal following the months-long standoff.
'The conflict had subsided by now, so what's [this latest] move for? The public could now give their support to the police [after the standoff], but the recent move, if they keep doing such things, could further harm the National Police's credibility,' Jimly said on Sunday.
Jimly also questioned the police's move to name the two commissioners after the commission issued a recommendation to the Supreme Court to suspend Sarpin for six months for breaching the judges' code of ethics in his ruling on Budi's pretrial motion.
'The police can't move to name them suspects because of the recent Judicial Commission recommendation, since it is an institutional decision. The case between Sarpin and the two commissioners is an individual matter not related to their institutions,' Jimly said.
Jimly added that the recent incident should also serve as a lesson for Judicial Commission members not to make any public statements on cases before the commission had finished its investigations.
