Former Indonesian president Suharto's youngest son was conditionally released from jail yesterday, after serving a third of his original sentence for plotting the murder of a Supreme Court judge.
Hutomo ``Tommy'' Mandalaputra's original 15-year sentence was reduced to 10 years on appeal. Following several lengthy reductions for good behavior, he has now served two-thirds of his time behind bars making him eligible for release on parole, officials said.
Tommy left the prison in east Jakarta yesterday afternoon and headed to the prosecutor's office, where final paperwork was completed, rolling down the window of his black luxury van and smiling at a pack of reporters and TV crews. He then headed back to the jail to pick up his belongings.
The speed with which Tommy has served his sentence has left some people questioning whether anything has changed since pro-democracy riots forced his father to step down in 1998 following 32-years of brutal and corrupt rule.
Members of the first family were considered untouchable during Suharto's reign.
"He is out. He will serve the remaining time outside the prison," said Gusti Tamarjaya, the justice ministry official handling penitentiaries in Jakarta.
While no longer in jail, Tommy is theoretically still a prisoner, and has to meet probation conditions.
"In a country upholding the law, we cannot discriminate. After he has served two-thirds of his sentence, automatically he is free with conditions," Vice President Jusuf Kalla told reporters.
Johnson Pandjaitan, a leading human rights lawyer from the Indonesian Human Rights and Legal Aid Association, said it was wrong to view the release as automatic.
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