By Ricky Gunawan
The story of Rose
- the first drug user sentenced by Indonesian courts to rehabilitation instead
of prison - continued this month, with some dramatic twists and turns that
highlight obstacles to implementing Indonesia's newly improved policy.
Rose was transferred from Pondok Bambu Detention Center to
By Ricky Gunawan
Up through 2009, Indonesia suffered a tremendous blow from the so-called
"judicial mafia", the corrupt network that controls the criminal justice
system. Every sector of Indonesia's legal system has been paralyzed by this
judicial mafia. It is made up of middlemen who, for a fee, can broker deals
between police, prosecutors and judges. In a late response to this dismal
situation, in late 2009 President
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono established a task force to "eradicate the
judicial mafia in the first 100 days" of his administration.
Last week, the task force conducted a surprise visit to Pondok Bambu
Detention Facility, Jakarta. This visit revealed shocking - yet, to those in
the know, all too predictable -- findings. Arthalyta Suryani, a high-class
criminal convicted of bribery, is imprisoned
in luxurious conditions. Her "cell" is an 8x8 meter room with a refrigerator,
flat TV with home theatre, air conditioner, and other facilities such as dining
tables, maids and a Blackberry.
By Ricky Gunawan
Rose (not her real name) has been using drugs for more than ten years. During that time, she had been arrested a number of times, and her life has been harrowing. Not long ago, she began to feel hope for the first time, when in a breakthrough decision, Indonesia's judges decided to send her to a rehabilitation center to treat her addiction.
However, Indonesia's rotten and corrupt judicial system dashed her hopes.
