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Thursday, 4 October, 2001, 10:32 GMT 11:32 UK
'Fight' over Tommy Suharto acquittal
Tommy Suharto, pictured in 2000, is still wanted
Indonesia's attorney general will demand a review of the Supreme Court acquittal of Tommy Suharto, the official's spokesman has said.
He is also demanding that Tommy emerge from hiding within three days to sign court documents. Controversially, the court has cleared the fugitive son of former President Suharto of corruption and overturned his 18-month jail sentence. Tommy never started the jail sentence - he went on the run last November and police have been unable to catch him.
There has been outrage from anti-corruption activists, politicians, and the media over the ruling by three judges on Monday. It had followed a demand for a case review filed by Tommy Suharto's lawyers. Now, Attorney General Muhamad Abdul Rachman wants to see a review of the judges' decision. "We will fight back by filing a demand for a case review to the Supreme Court," said his spokesman, Mulyoharjo. The appeal would be filed within the next two weeks, he said. Ultimatum The spokesman also said the attorney general was giving Tommy Suharto until Monday at the latest to sign court documents. "If he does not come ... his reputation cannot be rehabilitated," Mulyoharjo told reporters.
On Wednesday, the attorney general said Tommy was still under suspicion over the murder of Supreme Court Justice Syafiuddin Kartasasmita. The judge was killed in a drive-by shooting on 26 July, and police say they have evidence that Tommy paid two men to carry it out, and that he provided the murder weapon. The original conviction was over a multi-million dollar land scam involving a company owned by Tommy Suharto. But the judges ruled on Monday he did not have day-to-day control of the company at the time of the 1995 scam, and therefore could not take the blame. One of the judges, Muhamad Taufik, subsequently denied he had taken bribes from the wealthy Suharto family to acquit Tommy. Despite a series of high-profile raids the police have made little progress in their search for 39-year-old Tommy, whose real name is Hutomo Mandala Putra.
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