JAKARTA (AFP) — An Indonesian court Thursday rejected a civil case against the youngest son of ex-dictator Suharto for alleged corruption and awarded him 550,000 dollars in a countersuit he filed, judges said.
The move provoked an outcry among activists in Indonesia who have been fighting to bring the relatives of Suharto, who died last month aged 86, to justice over alleged graft.
Indonesia's national logistics agency Bulog had been seeking 550 billion rupiah (61 million dollars) from the ex-president's youngest son Tommy Suharto and other defendants in damages relating to an alleged 1995 land exchange scam.
"The panel of judges at the South Jakarta district court rejected all accusations filed by Bulog against all defendants," the chief of the panel, Haswandi, told the court.
"The panel of judges accepted the counter-lawsuit filed by Tommy Suharto and ordered Bulog to pay immaterial damages to Tommy Suharto in the amount of five billion rupiah (550,000 dollars)," he added.
Tommy was a commissioner for Goro Batara Sakti (GBS), a now defunct supermarket business, which acquired prime land owned by Bulog in return for a worthless swamp in North Jakarta.
Tommy's lawyers had argued that Bulog's claims should be rejected since their client was cleared of all charges in a related criminal case in 2000.
Prosecutors had countered that the Indonesian civil code allowed for a civil suit to be lodged even when a defendant was discharged in a criminal case on the same matter.
Haswandi said the accusations filed by Bulog were considered "exaggerated, irrelevant and inaccurate".
"We are really disappointed about the verdict handed down by the panel of judges, especially concerning the countersuit," one of Bulog's lawyers, Asfifuddin, told reporters.
"We are the ones who filed the lawsuit against him (Tommy) so why are we the ones who have to pay penalties? ... We need to study the verdicts carefully" before deciding whether to appeal, he added.
Tommy was sentenced to 18 months' imprisonment in 2000 over the land swap, the first time a Suharto was convicted of corruption.
Tommy escaped however and the case was overturned, though the former playboy was eventually caught and jailed for ordering the murder of the judge who had convicted him.
He was freed last year after serving less than one-third of his 15-year jail sentence.
Asmara Nababan, director of research group, the Centre for Democracy and Human Rights Studies, said the decision was "breathtaking".
"First of all, the prosecutors have to appeal the case. We know that in fact the state, in this case Bulog, got the short end of the deal. Collusion during the Suharto days made it possible for (the deal) to take place," he said.
"Our justice system has not been able to prove itself as fair and impartial. It is a reality that they are easily influenced by outside forces, be it money or other things," he said.
Fadjroel Rachman, head of Pedoman Indonesia, a non-government organisation that monitors Suharto-related corruption cases, said the decision was "scandalous".
"The justice system is blatantly trying to clear the Suhartos in court. It is like they are trying to legally launder their name," he told AFP.
"The people can clearly see what kind of justice system we have now after this decision."
Late president Suharto was accused of overseeing massive corruption during his 32-year rule of Indonesia that benefited his family and cronies, but he never stood criminal trial.
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