Police risk reputation with ‘baseless’ Susno arrest

Former National Police chief detective Comr. Gen. Susno Duadji refused to sign his arrest dossiers on Tuesday, saying he disagreed with all charges used by police to name him a suspect and
arrest him.

Susno was officially arrested on Tuesday night by the National Police and has since been transferred to the Police Mobile Brigade Penitentiary in Kelapa Dua, Depok.

“My detention has no legal basis at all,” Susno told reporters, while being escorted to a car by about a dozen police officers who deterred reporters from interviewing Susno.

The investigation charged Susno with corruption and bribery under the Corruption Law. He allegedly accepted a bribe of Rp 500 million (US$55,000) from Sjahril Djohan, a suspected case broker, to “settle” a fraud case centering on Riau-based arowana fish-breeding company PT Salmah Arowana Lestari.

Arif Yusuf Amir, one of Susno’s lawyers, said the investigators had named Susno a suspect based on testimonies from three witnesses: Haposan Hutagalung, Sjahril and Adj. Sr. Comr. Syamsurizal Mokoagouw.

He said that under the law, a testimony alone was not enough to name someone a suspect and bring formal charges against them.

“The accusation came from Haposan, who said he had been told by Sjahril that he had given the money to Susno. This is hearsay. Haposan didn’t see the bribery take place with his own eyes,” he said.

Earlier reports said that a leaked police dossier on Sjahril stated that he had met Susno at Susno’s house in December 2008 to hand over the bribe. He said Syamsurizal, an anti-narcotics police officer, was in Susno’s house when Susno accepted the bribe.

Susno’s other lawyer, Henry Yosodiningrat, said there was a contradiction in the testimonies of Sjahril and Syamsurizal, who both claimed they had seen the transaction.

“Sjahril said that when he met with Susno, the man was wearing a sarong and holding his grandson, but Syamsurizal said Susno had been dressed formally,” he said.

The chairman of the National Commission on Human Rights, Ifdhal Kasim, found strong indications of human rights violations in Susno’s arrest. “The police have not been able to produce adequate objective evidence in arresting Susno, so there may be violations of human rights,” he told reporters.

He said that a suspect could only be arrested if there was a possibility they would attempt to escape, destroy evidence or repeat the crime.

“I hope Susno’s arrest won’t be a bad precedent for others thinking about whistle-blowing,” Ifdhal said.

The Setara Institute issued a press release that demanded the police explain their reason for detaining Susno, adding that failure to do so would see them lose the public’s trust.

“The public will see the police as a corrupt institution,” it said.

Susno’s family spokesman, Husni Maderi, said Susno’s wife Herawati had sent a letter containing her feelings about Susno’s arrest to First Lady Ani Yudhoyono.

“It was a letter from a mother to another, although it was delivered via the State Secretariat,” he said as quoted by Antara news agency.

Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Djoko Suyanto said the government would not interfere with the legal process dealing with Susno.

“Have we ever intervened in a legal process? We haven’t, right?” Djoko said. (rdf)