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JAKARTA: An Indonesian court on Thursday acquitted the late former
President Suharto in a civil corruption case, but ordered his
charitable foundation to repay more than $100 million in state
funds.
Indonesia’s government had sought $1.4 billion
in damages from Suharto and the charity he founded, alleging that
the former leader skimmed off millions of dollars of state money.
The panel of judges said both Suharto and his
Supersemar Foundation had engaged in “actions that ran against the
law,” but acquitted the former leader, saying he did so in his
capacity as an executive of the charity.
They said Suharto, represented in the case by
his six children, had not been proven guilty of direct involvement.
“The first defendant [Suharto] is acquitted,
but the Supersemar foundation, the second defendant, has to pay some
of the damages [requested by the government],” said Judge Wahyono,
who like many Indonesians goes by one name. “The second defendant
[Supersemar] has engaged in actions that went against the law and
therefore should pay.”
Suharto died in January without facing criminal
prosecution over allegations that he oversaw massive corruption
during his more than three-decade rule that benefited his family and
cronies.
The civil suit against Suharto, who quit as
president in 1998 after massive protests, began last year as part of
a revived effort by the current government to bring him to justice.
-- AFP
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