|
|
|
Protecting whistle-blowers in corruption cases |
|
|
|
|
Senin, 28 Agustus 2006 |
|
Indonesia has made significant progress in its efforts to curb corruption with the endorsement by the House of Representatives of the much-awaited Witness Protection Bill. The anticorruption movement and human rights activists have been longing for such a law since they started the campaign for the protection of whistle-blowers in 2000.
The bill is aimed at protecting witnesses and whistle-blowers in various criminal cases. According to Article 10 (1) of the bill, witnesses, victims and whistle-blowers cannot be prosecuted on civil or criminal charges based on reports and testimony given in the past or in the future. The bill refers to whistle-blowers as those who provide law enforcers with information on illegal acts.
The bill is relevant to the fight against corruption as numerous witnesses and whistle-blowers have been subject to threats, intimidation and defamation. According to data gathered by Indonesian Corruption Watch, whistle-blowers in 24 graft cases have ended up themselves being prosecuted, while the cases they reported were dismissed.
There are numerous examples of the irony in Indonesia's anticorruption drive. Endin Wahyudin, Maria Leonita and former Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) auditor Khairiansyah Salman were prosecuted for defamation after they reported several public officials, including Supreme Court justices, for bribery.
A law on witness protection is aimed at ensuring that people feel secure and free from threats when he or she testifies or provides information to investigators. The law not only provides security to witnesses and victims, but also their family members. Many have been reluctant to testify in court against corruption suspects for fear of defamation charges. The newly passed bill protects the rights of witnesses, and will provide for the protection of witnesses and victims, so they can outspokenly and fearlessly unveil corruption cases.
The definition of witness protection is quite broad, so that someone who spots irregularities in the results of a BPK audit can become a witness and be entitled to protection.
However, the bill on witness protection contains some weaknesses. For example, once prosecution starts the role of a witness in a corruption case dwindles, whereas the role of the state apparatus increases. This could pose a hurdle to the war on corruption as many graft cases involve the state apparatus.
Another weakness is the stipulation that unlike witnesses, whistle-blowers are not entitled to protection from threats although their safety is equally at risk. In fact, protection for whistle-blowers is as important as that for witnesses.
A witness is someone who is capable of providing information for an investigation, indictment or cross-examination in a trial, based on what he or she has heard, seen and experienced.
Though the House approved the Witness Protection Bill on July 18, 2006, problems could still arise with its implementation. Once it is enacted, the government is obliged to establish a body that is specifically responsible for witness protection within one year of the new law's enforcement. The Protection of Witnesses and Victims Body will be authorized to provide protection and other rights to witnesses and/or victims. This body is to be self-sufficient and located in Jakarta, with representative offices in provinces when necessary.
The body will have seven members, who will include human rights experts, police officers, prosecutors, officials from the Justice and Human Rights Ministry, scholars, lawyers or non-governmental organization activists.
Although the body has not yet been established, law enforcers are already able to protect witnesses and victims, especially those in corruption cases. This will be the real test for the law on witness protection, learning from the experiences of the Corruption Eradication Commission, which has found that protecting witnesses is not as easy as it seems.
The next problem will be the formalization of witness protection and the formulation of operational regulations.
Amid the never-ending fight against corruption, we hope this legislation will help uncover bribery cases within the police, prosecution service and judiciary. With clean law enforcers and a clean judiciary, we can expect to curb corruption.
Lais Abid, The writer is a member of the working committee of Indonesian Corruption Watch (ICW).
Source: The Jakarta Post, August 28, 2006 |
|
|
News