Indonesia's Chief Justice Demands SBY Explain Corby Clemency
Agus Triyono & Novianti Setuningsih & Ezra Sihite | May 24, 2012
Constitutional Court chief Mahfud MD speaks at a seminar in Jakarta on Thursday, where he called on President Yudhoyono to explain why he gave Australia "marijuana queen" Schapelle Corby five years clemency. (Antara Photo)This seems to be indicative of the slow change in cultural reasoning in many Asian countries. The war on Drugs does not seem to be having such a dramatic effect other than making it highly lucrative.
However to view Corruption in such a light as Mahfud has outlined is indicative of the lack of comprehension on how insidious a virus corruption is.
If one looks around at post WWII countries, the least developed appear to be those with the highest rate of corruption ingrained in the culture.
This corruption is the root cause of delayed development and is so highly destructive that is allows a very few to adversely effect the lives of hundreds of millions. Corruption kills more generations in one year than terrorism, tobacco, alcohol, drugs combined. Corruption is in fact a higher form of terrorism as it in effect debilitates entire nations and keeps untold billions in abject poverty and without goods and services.
As a senior Judge Pak Mafhud, it is time to reconsider your position.
Constitutional Court chief justice Mahfud MD called on the president on Thursday to explain why he gave a five-year sentence reduction to Australian “marijuana queen” Schapelle Corby.
“I think it is normal to question the reason behind the clemency as we [government] have the commitment that drug-related crimes are some of the biggest crimes and should get heavy sanctions,” Mahfud said.Mahfud said that even the president had the constitutional right to give clemency, he needed to take national security and other factors into consideration.“Drug crime is worse than corruption and terrorism,” Mahfud said. “In corruption and terrorism cases, if the perpetrators are sanctioned to death, the case ends with their death. But drugs destroy life. It doesn’t only kill the life of one person, but it destroys the life of the next generations.”With five years chopped off of her 20-year sentence, Corby can now walk free as early as September this year, taking into account time served and the possibility of future remissions and parole.“After the clemency, Corby is predicted could get parole on September 2012,” Ika Yusanti, an official at the Justice and Human Rights Ministry, said on Thursday. Corby has already been in prison for almost eight years, and has received two years worth of remissions.Some have said the clemency was part of a deal with Australia to gain freedom for three Indonesian youths convicted last week of trafficking asylum-seekers to Australia. Indonesia and Australia have denied there was any deal.International law expert Hikmahanto Juwana said that if so, was an unequal exchange.“The first oddity is that the Indonesian citizens detained by Australia were fishermen who did not get much [money] from trafficking asylum-seekers from Indonesia to Australia,” Hikmahanto said on Thursday, adding that their crime was not as bad as Corby’s. “Secondly, without the clemency given to Corby, Australia would still release the fishermen.”The third problem with such a deal, Hikmahanto said, was that it would have exchanged one Australian for seven Indonesians, which would suggest the latter were somehow worth less. The National Movement Against Drugs (Granat), said on Thursday that it would file lawsuit with the Jakarta administrative court, asking that the clemency be annulled.Granat chairman Henry Yosodiningrat said the clemency might set a bad precedent.“This is our concern to prevent it from happening again in the future,” Henry said.Additional reporting by AntaraRelated articles
Indonesia to Release Australian Corby in 2017: Prison Chief 8:54pm May 25, 2012
HRWG Deplores Yudhoyono's 'Lack of Diplomatic Skills' 3:35pm May 25, 2012
With Corby Clemency, Indonesian Government Aims for Reciprocity 10:58am May 24, 2012
Australia’s Corby Could Walk Free as Soon as Next Year 6:26pm May 23, 2012
Update: Australia, Indonesia Deny Corby Deal8:48am May 23, 2012
Comments
Mahfud statement reveals such ugly, uneducated things about the man that should embarrass the whole of Indonesia !
The gap between the modern, enlightened and progressive world which learns from countries like Portigual and the third world countries like Indonesia grows ever larger !
indonesia, like the u.s., is not a signatory to the icc.
Indonesia is doing a good enough job of destroying it's attraction to Australians. We've had lots of Australians who have been ripped off, scammed, sold drugs by undercover police then busted to extort money from them.
Recent coverage of the garbage piling up in Bali and on Kuta Beach. International champion surfer Kelly Slater talking about the garbage.
The corruption is on both sides, not only Indonesia. Both countries are guilty of crucifying this innocent woman. It will be in the international courts in the very near future. Stay tuned.
Presumably Mahfud will be demanding an immediate investigation into the 1000 Acheh police officers caught with drugs?
Or into the slap-on-the-wrist penalties meted out to the elite and their offspring?
All in the interests of fair, even-handed and equal treatment of ALL offenders, of course.
I'm not holding my breath.
