Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06JAKARTA13454
2006-12-08 11:26:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Jakarta
Cable title:  

AGO TASK FORCE BECOMES OPERATIONAL AS POSO TRIALS

Tags:  PTER PGOV KJUS ASEC ID 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO4645
OO RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM
DE RUEHJA #3454/01 3421126
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 081126Z DEC 06 ZDS
FM AMEMBASSY JAKARTA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 2422
INFO RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS PRIORITY
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA PRIORITY 0208
RUEHWL/AMEMBASSY WELLINGTON PRIORITY 1203
RHMCSUU/FBI WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC PRIORITY
RHHMUNA/USCINCPAC HONOLULU HI PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 JAKARTA 013454 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR S/CT, G/TIP AND EAP/MTS INL FOR BOULDIN AND S/CT
DOJ FOR CTS THORNTON, OPDAT FOR ALEXANDRE/LEHMANN/CRAWFORD
FBI FOR ETTUI/SSA ROTH

C O R R E C T E D C O P Y (PASS LINE ADDEES)

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/07/2016
TAGS: PTER PGOV KJUS ASEC ID
SUBJECT: AGO TASK FORCE BECOMES OPERATIONAL AS POSO TRIALS
BEGIN

REF: A. JAKARTA 09443 - CT TASK FORCE INAUGURATION


B. JAKARTA 09160 - OPTIMISM FOR POSO PEACE

JAKARTA 00013454 001.3 OF 003


Classified By: Political Officer Adam West for reasons 1.4(b) and (d).

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 JAKARTA 013454

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR S/CT, G/TIP AND EAP/MTS INL FOR BOULDIN AND S/CT
DOJ FOR CTS THORNTON, OPDAT FOR ALEXANDRE/LEHMANN/CRAWFORD
FBI FOR ETTUI/SSA ROTH

C O R R E C T E D C O P Y (PASS LINE ADDEES)

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/07/2016
TAGS: PTER PGOV KJUS ASEC ID
SUBJECT: AGO TASK FORCE BECOMES OPERATIONAL AS POSO TRIALS
BEGIN

REF: A. JAKARTA 09443 - CT TASK FORCE INAUGURATION


B. JAKARTA 09160 - OPTIMISM FOR POSO PEACE

JAKARTA 00013454 001.3 OF 003


Classified By: Political Officer Adam West for reasons 1.4(b) and (d).


1. (SBU) Summary: Less than four months after the group's
official inauguration, the Attorney General's Terrorism and
Transnational Crime Task Force is now becoming operational.
In October, Post delivered $100,000 worth of computers and
other office equipment to the Task Force's newly-renovated
office space, part of a $750,000 ESF grant which funded the
group's creation. Task Force prosecutors are now tackling
their first cases, among them the trials of three suspects
linked to the beheadings of three school girls in Poso,
Central Sulawesi in 2005 which opened in Jakarta in November.
Experienced terrorist prosecutor and Task Force member
Payaman Hutupea leads the prosecution team. Task Force
members are also working on 10 cases involving trafficking in
persons. On November 29-30, the DOJ Resident Legal Advisor
organized the first of a series of INL-funded training
sessions aimed at bringing advanced investigative and
prosecutorial techniques to Task Force members and other
prosecutors. This first training session focused on
cybercrime and the use of computer-based evidence in trials.
While the operational start of the Task Force is a welcome
development in the AGO's efforts to combat more effectively
certain types of criminal activity, questions regarding its
long-term staffing policy and budgetary support remain
unanswered. End Summary.

Task Force Infrastructure in Place
--------------


2. (SBU) The AGO's Terrorism and Transnational Crime Task
Force was becoming operational in November (ref A). More
than two years in the making, the Task Force was created to
oversee the prosecution of cases that involve terrorism,

money laundering, trafficking in persons and cybercrime. A
$750,000 ESF grant provides start-up funds for the group, and
on September 28 Post delivered the first shipment of
computers and office equipment to the newly-renovated Task
Force offices. The delivery included 25 computers, two
photocopiers, five printers and various small office machines
and supplies. Post also purchased electronic access control
pads and security cameras for the Task Force offices.

Poso Beheadings Trials Are First Real Test
--------------


3. (C) In November, the Task Force began working on its first
group of cases. The most prominent of these are the trials
of three terrorist suspects arrested last spring for their
alleged involvement in the 2005 beheading of three school
girls in Poso, Central Sulawesi (ref B). The trials of
Hasanuddin aka Hasan aka Slamet Rahardjo, Lilik Purwanto aka
Haris aka Arman, and Irwanto Irano aka Iwanaka Priantono
opened in Jakarta in the third week of November. All three
suspects were charged under the anti-terror law of 2003. The
three men are members of the Tanah Runtuh cell, a
JI-affiliated militant group based in Poso. Hasanuddin, who
was not present at the time of the behedings, is charged
with inciting the attack and i the only one of the three
facing the death penaty. Purwanto and Irano were directly
involved incarryi(ng out the attack but did not actually
wield the weapons. They are charged with conspiracy to commit
terrorism, which carries a maximum sentence of life
imprisonment. According to our court monitor (protect: our
court monitor's relationship with the embassy is not publicly
acknowledged),Hasanuddin had many supporters in attendance
for the November 22 opening of his trial. Well-spoken and
unrepentant, Hasanuddin admitted that he had carried out
"mutilation" and justified his actions as a reprisal for
attacks on Muslims during the 1999-2001 sectarian fighting in
the province which, he asserted, the government had left
unpunished.


4. (C) Lead prosecutor for the three cases is Task Force
member Payaman Hutupea, a veteran prosecutor with previous
experience in terrorist cases, including the trials of Abu
Bakar Ba'asyir and Rusman Gunawan. Our court monitor praised
Hutupa's performance thus far, describing the indictment as

JAKARTA 00013454 002.3 OF 003


highly detailed and well-prepared. The indictments rely
heavily on the testimony of witnesses and the suspects
themselves, but also include some physical evidence: the
fingerprints of Irano and Purwanto, which were found on the
plastic bags used to store the victim's remains, and a letter
found near the bags that investigators determined was written
by Hasanuddin. (Note: This is a positive development because
direct physical evidence such as fingerprints is rarely seen
in criminal cases in Indonesia.)


5. (C) One of the main gaps in the indictment is that it
fails to mention the videotaped confessions that the
defendants made in May while in police custody, which Poloffs
viewed in July. In the videos, the three suspects admitted
their involvement in several attacks over the past few years,
including the schoolgirl beheadings, the May 2005 Tentena
bombing that killed 22 people and the murder of several
prominent individuals in Poso. However, the indictments
mention their roles in the beheadings only. Police contacts
told us that they have little evidence on which to base a
prosecution for the Tentena bombings and the other attacks,
but were hopeful that charges would be brought at a later
date after the arrest of additional suspects. Hutupea told
us that he had met several times with investigators at police
headquarters but that he had not been told about the videos.
He described the police dossiers as "incomplete" and the
cases as relying primarily on the testimony provided by six
witnesses from Poso, including the sole surviving victim of
the beheading attack. Hutupea said the police had agreed to
pay for the witnesses to travel to Jakarta to testify.

Trafficking in Persons
--------------


6. (C) The Task Force is also pursuing 10 cases involving
trafficking in persons. Task Force prosecutors Laksmi
Rohmulyati and Asep Maryono are handling two cases in
coordination with a local prosecutor in Subang, West Java,
the venue for the trial. Rohmulyati was confident that the
distance would not negatively impact her ability to work with
the local prosecutor, whom she knew personally. However, she
was unclear as to which office was considered to have the
lead in the case, and indicated that the relationship between
the Task Force and the local prosecutors' offices with which
they collaborated had yet to be defined.

Training in Cybercrime and Computer-based Evidence
-------------- --------------


7. (SBU) On November 29-30, DOJ Resident Legal Advisor (RLA)
organized the first of a series of training seminars targeted
at Task Force members and other prosecutors and funded by the
ESF grant. The seminar brought 35 prosecutors together to
explore the themes of crimes committed on computers and the
use of computer-based evidence in trials. In his
introduction, Task Force Chief Thomson Siagian said the
growing usefulness of computer-based evidence in conducting
criminal investigations contrasted with the lack of clear
regulations in the Indonesian criminal code concerning the
use of such evidence in court. He explained that while
computer-based evidence was explicitly permitted under the
laws regulating terrorism and corruption cases, the legal
basis for its use in more common cases was uncertain.
Presenters from the Indonesian National Police Cybercrime
Unit discussed various types of crimes committed via computer
and highlighted a recent case in which two men with links to
Bali I bomber Iman Samudra we
re tracked and eventually arrested based on their on-line
chatting.


8. (SBU) DOJ Adviser focused on practical ways in which
computer evidence could be used, both in police
investigations and in the courtroom. He described ways in
which the source of an email could be traced, how the content
of old emails could be retrieved and how to preserve the
integrity of computer evidence during the investigation. He
cited cases studies which showed how computer-based evidence
could be used in an investigation, and emphasized how
international legal cooperation was often essential in
bringing the investigation to a successful conclusion.


JAKARTA 00013454 003.2 OF 003


Questions About Budgets and Staffing
--------------


9. (C) The beginning of Task Force operations is a welcome
development in the AGO's efforts to more effectively combat
certain types of criminal activity. Still, a number of
long-term issues remain unclear. One of these is how Task
Force operational expenses will be funded. According to
Rohmulyati, the Task Force lacks its own budgetary
allocation. As a result, most of the prosecutors assigned to
it must divide their time between the Task Force and the
offices from which they were drawn (and which continue to pay
their salaries),reducing the workload the group is able to
bear. Moreover, the lack of an independent budget has a
direct impact on the tenure of the prosecutors assigned to
the Task Force. All prosecutors in Indonesia rotate to new
positions at regular intervals, nominally every two years but
often shorter. Rohmulyati said she expects transfers of Task
Force members will be based on their cycle in the offices
where their salaries are paid rather than assignment to the
Task Force, thereby accelerating the turnover on the Task
Force. Indeed, we have already confirmed that one prosecutor
will be transferred to another city in February 2007, less
than nine months after the establishment of the Task Force.
Task Force member Reda Manthovani expressed optimism that the
Task Force would receive its own budget line in the coming
fiscal year, but this outcome seems far from certain. Post
will continue to monitor these issues as they unfold in the
coming months.
PASCOE