KY Dismisses 3 Judges Acquitting Ronnald Tannur: Evidence of Impaired Judicial Independence and Declining Dignity of the Court in Indonesia

Mochammad Rafi Pravidjayanto, S.H.

Contributor

04 Sep 2024 · 07:52 04 September 2024 07:52 WIB 7 minutes reading time: 7 minutes 8 read

This article discusses the author's opinion on the influence between the dignity of the court and the ronnald tannur murder case

KY Dismisses 3 Judges Acquitting Ronnald Tannur: Evidence of Impaired Judicial Independence and Declining Dignity of the Court in Indonesia

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Table of Contents

Short Chronology of Ronald Tannur's Acquittal Verdict and Its Controversy
Proven to have Violated the Judge's Code of Ethics and Conduct Guidelines (KEPPH), KY Dismissed 3 Surabaya District Court Judges Acquitting Ronnald Tannur
The Relationship Between the Judge's Profession and the Dignity of the Court
Source

Legal Literacy - Every cause has an effect, everything that is done, there must be consequences attached to the act. Recently, there has been sad news about the death of public trust in the judicial system in Indonesia due to the dismissal of three District Court Judges who acquitted the defendant in the murder of Ronnald Tannur, who is the son of ex-DPR-RI Edward Tannur of the PKB faction. This caused friction from the public to demand justice for the injured family of the victim Dini Sera Afrianti. This is interesting to examine the influence of the case on the dignity of the court.

Short Chronology of Ronald Tannur's Acquittal Verdict and Its Controversy

Wednesday (24/7) The acquittal verdict by the Panel of Judges of the District Court shocked visitors who attended the court hearing. The defendant Gregorius Ronald Tannur, son of ex-member of the DPR RI PKB Faction Edward Tannur, who was previously prosecuted by the prosecutor with a sentence of 12 years in prison and restitution to the victim's family of Rp. 264.6 million referring to Article 338 of the Criminal Code, or secondly Article 351 paragraph (3) of the Criminal Code and thirdly Article 359 of the Criminal Code and 351 paragraph (1) of the Criminal Code. (Amir Baihaqi, 2024)

“Releasing the defendant from all charges, ordering the defendant to be released from detention after this verdict is pronounced, giving the defendant his rights regarding his rights and dignity,” said presiding judge Damanik reading out his verdict, Wednesday (24/7/2024). (Amir Baihaqi, 2024) In the judge's consideration based on the evidence presented at the trial, it did not convince the Panel of Judges that Dini Sera Afrianti's death was caused by the defendant's actions.

This incident reaped controversy in the eyes of the public, the Head of Intelligence of the Surabaya Prosecutor's Office, Putu Arya Wibisana, highlighted several pieces of evidence that were ignored by the judge until he dropped the acquittal verdict against Ronald. According to him, the evidence ignored by the judge included a visum et repertum letter which stated that there were internal injuries due to blunt force trauma and traces of car marks. This should be a fact that must be considered by the panel of judges, said Putu, Thursday, (25/7/2024). (Hilda Rinanda, 2024) So the prosecutor assessed that the judge in deciding the case had ignored the evidence.

In short, the Judicial Commission also responded to the Surabaya District Court's decision against the defendant Gregorius Ronald Tannur, who was previously sentenced to 12 years in prison and payment of restitution to the victim of 263.6 million or 6 months in prison if the restitution was not paid. “This acquittal raises questions and controversy in the community who may feel that justice has been injured,” said KY spokesperson, Mukti Fajar Nur Dewata, Thursday, (25/7/2024). Mukti stated that the KY then took the initiative to examine the decision in order to investigate alleged violations of the Judge's Code of Ethics and Conduct Guidelines (KEPPH). (Diva Suukyi Larasati, 2024)