Dian Kuswandini, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Fri, 09/26/2008 11:00 AM | National
A key witness in the trial of former BIN deputy head Muchdi Purwopranjono has revoked his testimonies by way of a letter received by the South Jakarta District Court on Thursday.
Budi -- a key witness in Muchdi's alleged role in the murder of human rights activist Muni -- said in the letter that he revoked his statements made during a series of police questionings in Jakarta between October 2007 and May 2008.
"Herewith I revoke the testimonies I made to detectives handling this case on Oct. 3 and Oct. 8, 2007, and March 27 and May 7, 2008," Muchdi's lawyer Luthfie Hakim read out the letter, which he said had been sent from Islamabad, Pakistan, where Budi, an intelligence officer, is stationed.
"The letter is dated Sept. 13, 2008, and carries Budi's signature. We have already compared the signature to other signatures (of Budi) in a police dossier, and we can confirm it's authentic," Luthfie said.
The letter does not include administrative numbers, an official stamp or the Indonesian Ambassador to Pakistan's signature as is required for such a letter to be considered valid.
In December 2007, a letter sent from Islamabad and signed with Budi's name said he revoked his testimony made during the trial of former Garuda Indonesia president director Indra Setiawan in a related case, citing that he had been under pressure on the witness stand.
However, the Central Jakarta District Court declared the letter was a fake.
Budi is the prosecution's key witness. Budi had testified that former Garuda pilot Pollycarpus had told him he had been ordered by Muchdi to kill Munir.
On Sept. 7, 2004, Munir was found dead from arsenic poisoning onboard a Garuda aircraft heading from Jakarta to Amsterdam soon after a stopover in Singapore. Pollycarpus was sentenced to 20 years' imprisonment for his role in the murder.
The prosecution has come under pressure from the defense and the panel of judges to present Budi in court.
Prosecutors Cirus Sinaga said they were cooperating with the Foreign Ministry to summon Budi.
Cirus said such a retraction submitted in written form was not valid according to the Criminal Law Procedures Code.
"The code fails to regulate on the withdrawal of a testimony via a letter. The regular procedure is for a witness to attend the trial and to talk to judges, who will later ask for his reasons for annulling his testimony," he said.
He said the prosecutors could use Budi's testimonies as evidence in court if after three attempts they had failed to summon him.
"The testimonies were made under oath, and they are lawful according to the Criminal Code," Cirus said.
In addition to Muchdi's team of lawyers, Budi also sent a copy of the letter to the panel of judges.
"We, the judges, confirm we have received a letter from Budi, but we have not opened it because correspondence is forbidden during a trial process. Any letter should be addressed to the court, not to judges," presiding judge Suharto told the court in response to the defense's statement.
Suharto said the judges were therefore not yet able to decide whether the withdrawal was valid. He said the judges would inform of their decision following a court session in October.
A key witness in the trial of former BIN deputy head Muchdi Purwopranjono has revoked his testimonies by way of a letter received by the South Jakarta District Court on Thursday.
Budi -- a key witness in Muchdi's alleged role in the murder of human rights activist Muni -- said in the letter that he revoked his statements made during a series of police questionings in Jakarta between October 2007 and May 2008.
"Herewith I revoke the testimonies I made to detectives handling this case on Oct. 3 and Oct. 8, 2007, and March 27 and May 7, 2008," Muchdi's lawyer Luthfie Hakim read out the letter, which he said had been sent from Islamabad, Pakistan, where Budi, an intelligence officer, is stationed.
"The letter is dated Sept. 13, 2008, and carries Budi's signature. We have already compared the signature to other signatures (of Budi) in a police dossier, and we can confirm it's authentic," Luthfie said.
The letter does not include administrative numbers, an official stamp or the Indonesian Ambassador to Pakistan's signature as is required for such a letter to be considered valid.
In December 2007, a letter sent from Islamabad and signed with Budi's name said he revoked his testimony made during the trial of former Garuda Indonesia president director Indra Setiawan in a related case, citing that he had been under pressure on the witness stand.
However, the Central Jakarta District Court declared the letter was a fake.
Budi is the prosecution's key witness. Budi had testified that former Garuda pilot Pollycarpus had told him he had been ordered by Muchdi to kill Munir.
On Sept. 7, 2004, Munir was found dead from arsenic poisoning onboard a Garuda aircraft heading from Jakarta to Amsterdam soon after a stopover in Singapore. Pollycarpus was sentenced to 20 years' imprisonment for his role in the murder.
The prosecution has come under pressure from the defense and the panel of judges to present Budi in court.
Prosecutors Cirus Sinaga said they were cooperating with the Foreign Ministry to summon Budi.
Cirus said such a retraction submitted in written form was not valid according to the Criminal Law Procedures Code.
"The code fails to regulate on the withdrawal of a testimony via a letter. The regular procedure is for a witness to attend the trial and to talk to judges, who will later ask for his reasons for annulling his testimony," he said.
He said the prosecutors could use Budi's testimonies as evidence in court if after three attempts they had failed to summon him.
"The testimonies were made under oath, and they are lawful according to the Criminal Code," Cirus said.
In addition to Muchdi's team of lawyers, Budi also sent a copy of the letter to the panel of judges.
"We, the judges, confirm we have received a letter from Budi, but we have not opened it because correspondence is forbidden during a trial process. Any letter should be addressed to the court, not to judges," presiding judge Suharto told the court in response to the defense's statement.
Suharto said the judges were therefore not yet able to decide whether the withdrawal was valid. He said the judges would inform of their decision following a court session in October.
