T

he Judicial Commission (KY) has said it will question Supreme Court justices Imron Anwari and Nyak Pha, the two judges who sat on the panel with Ahmad Yamani, the disgraced judge who was fired for commuting the sentence of a drug czar.

The commission has also indicated that the judge’s decision to commute the sentence might have been influenced by bribery.

“The KY has scheduled separate questioning sessions for Imron and Nyak Pha following the dishonorable dismissal of Yamani by the Judges’ Ethics Council on Tuesday,” KY deputy chairman Imam Anshori Saleh said here on Wednesday.

“Besides, we have also received numerous reports from the public about other alleged wrongdoings by the justices,” Imam added.

Imron, as the presiding justice, along with Yamani and Nyak Pha as members of the panel of justices, issued a controversial ruling in October, commuting the death sentence of Hengky Gunawan, a drug lord, to 15 years in prison.

Hengky was arrested in 2006 for possession of 11.1 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine, valued at
Rp 10.8 billion (US$1.12 million), along with materials for the drug’s production. He was also accused of operating a drug laboratory in Surabaya, East Java.

Amid public outcry, which called into question the Supreme Court’s sense of justice, the media learned that local prosecutors in Surabaya had received a written copy of the verdict stating Hengky was to be jailed for 12 years instead of 15.

The Judges’ Ethics Council, an ad hoc council consisting of Supreme Court justices and KY commissioners, declared that Yamani had committed a severe ethics violation by conspiring with the court’s registrar to reduce the sentence from 15 years to 12 behind closed doors, making him the first Supreme Court justice in the country to be dishonorably dismissed.

“During the hearing on Tuesday, Yamani testified that the sentence reduction had been made under instructions from Imron as the presiding justice. Thus, we need to investigate Imron. The KY will also uncover the motives behind the controversial sentence,” Imam said.

Supreme Court Chief Justice Hatta Ali, however, defended Imron and Nyak Pha, saying there were insufficient indications the two justices had committed ethics violations. “But if the KY wants to investigate Imron, I won’t oppose it,” he said.

Hatta further said that the Supreme Court’s monitoring division would only question Dwi Tomo, a clerk at Hengky’s hearing who has since become the deputy chief of the Sukoharjo District Court in Central Java, and Ahmad Halim, the registrar who allegedly conspired with Yamani in the manipulation of Hengky’s sentence.

But the KY believes the reduction from a life sentence to 15 years in prison might involve a separate set of wrongdoings.

Imron, a retired military general, has come under fire for controversial rulings he issued in other
narcotics-related cases. In 2010, he was the presiding judge who reduced the life sentence handed down to Nigerian Hillary K. Chimezie, who was convicted for possession of 5.8 kilograms of heroin, to 12 years in prison.

KY spokesman Asep Rahmat Fajar said that the commission had filed an official request with the National Police to look into allegations against Yamani. “Yamani could be charged with document forgery, corruption, or even money laundering,” he said.

Money laundering expert Yenti Ganarsih, meanwhile, urged the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) to look into allegations leveled at Yamani and other justices as the alleged flow of illicit funds could bring to light those involved in the so-called “justice mafia” within the country’s courts.

Indonesia’s efforts to combat narcotics have recently come under public scrutiny following the revelation that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono had approved clemencies for several drug convicts.