Cablegate: Rule of Law -- Prosecutors Get Close Look at U.S.

VZCZCXRO8084
OO RUEHCHI RUEHCN RUEHDT RUEHHM
DE RUEHJA #3182/01 3200853
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 160853Z NOV 07
FM AMEMBASSY JAKARTA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 7084
INFO RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS PRIORITY
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 1585
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 1131
RUEHWL/AMEMBASSY WELLINGTON 2029
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEAWJB/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 JAKARTA 003182

SIPDIS

AIDAC
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EAP, EAP/MTS, S/CT, INR/EAP, INL FOR BOULDIN
DOJ FOR AAG SWARTZ, OPDAT FOR LEHMANN/ALEXANDRE/JOHNSON
DOJ/CTS FOR MULLANEY, ST HILAIRE
FBI FOR ETTUI/SSA ROTH
NSC FOR EPHU
NCTC

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL KJUS PGOV PTER ID
SUBJECT: RULE OF LAW -- PROSECUTORS GET CLOSE LOOK AT U.S.
JUDICIAL SYSTEM

REF: A. JAKARTA 2852

B. JAKARTA 2797
C. JAKARTA 2496
D. JAKARTA 2346
E. JAKARTA 2101
F. JAKARTA 1410
G. JAKARTA 827

1. (U) This message is Sensitive but Unclassified -- Please
handle accordingly.

2. (SBU) SUMMARY: Accompanied by poloff and DOJ/OPDAT, 11
Indonesian prosecutors from a key task force participated in
a November study visit to the U.S. The USG-funded program
gave the participants both a broad understanding of the U.S.
criminal justice system as well as a more detailed look at
how terrorism and other matters are investigated and
prosecuted in the U.S. Task Force members were impressed by
the focus of the USG on interagency coordination. They also
showed great interest in the adversarial court system, which
Indonesia is currently examining as a model. END SUMMARY.

ASSISTING A KEY TASK FORCE

3. (SBU) As part of its rule of law focus, Mission continues
to try to build the capacity of Indonesian prosecutors. The
second of two groups from the Attorney General's Task Force
on Terrorism and Transnational Crime participated in a
comparative study visit to the United States October
31-November 9 (ref F). Created in 2006 with USG support, the
Task Force is an elite group of prosecutors who are
commissioned to handle high-profile cases involving
terrorism, money laundering, trafficking in persons,
cybercrime and intellectual property rights (ref B).

4. (SBU) Barely one year old, the Task Force has already
brought a slew of major cases to trial, winning convictions
against 20 terrorists involved in a series of violent attacks
in Poso, Central Sulawesi (refs E and G), and in several
human trafficking cases. The Task Force is currently
prosecuting 20 Jemaah Islamiyah (JI)-linked terrorists (refs
A and D) and is preparing cases against key JI leaders Abu
Dujana and Zarkasih (ref G). The delegation was led by
newly-appointed Task Force Deputy Chief Soedibyo (one name
only) and included prosecutors working on each of the cases
cited above.

5. (SBU) The study visit was jointly funded from a $100,000
FY-06 NADR grant from S/CT and DOJ's Office of Overseas
Prosecutorial Development, Assistance and Training (OPDAT) in
Washington DC. The program included courtroom observations
and meetings with DOJ and other USG officials in Tucson,
Miami and Washington DC. Major themes included the
adversarial nature of court proceedings in the United States,
interagency coordination and witness/victim services. The
group was accompanied by the DOJ Resident Legal Advisor (RLA)
at Post, a DOJ/OPDAT Program Analyst and poloff.

A FIRST-HAND LOOK

6. (U) As part of its intense schedule, the delegation
received a first-hand look at the U.S. judicial system.
Federal prosecutors at the U.S. Attorney's Office in Tucson
talked at length with Task Force members about how they
handle the thousands of cases involving the smuggling of
narcotics, weapons and people across the international border
each year. They described the extensive coordination between
prosecutors and various other agencies such as the FBI,
DHS/ICE, Border Patrol and local police, both informally and
through groups such as the Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF).
Task Force members also witnessed a jury bring in a guilty
verdict and the arraignment of recently-arrested suspects,
after which judges took questions from the group about the
jury system and the structure of the U.S. judiciary. In
addition, the prosecutors visited a maximum security federal

JAKARTA 00003182 002 OF 002

penitentiary in Tucson.

7. (U) The Miami portion of the study visit focused more
narrowly on how prosecutors manage the adversarial process
that characterizes criminal proceedings in the United States.
(Note: in Indonesia's more inquisitorial justice system,
judges take on many of the roles that in the United States
would fall to prosecutors.) Task Force members observed U.S.
prosecutors make opening statements in court, prepare
witnesses for trial and argue with defense attorneys
regarding a motion to suppress evidence. A U.S. Magistrate
Judge answered extensive questions from Task Force members
regarding the provision of pre-trial services, criteria
applied in bail deliberations and rules of evidence. The
group also visited Miami's High Intensity Drug Trafficking
Area (HIDTA) Task Force facility where they met with federal
prosecutors and local law enforcement agents who work side by
side.

8. (SBU) In Washington, Task Force members met with DOJ
officials involved in counterterrorism, money laundering and
asset forfeiture, trafficking-in-persons, computer crimes,
intellectual property rights and international cooperation.
They received a briefing on the federal witness protection
program from the U.S. Marshall's Service, and met with State
Department officials from EAP/MTS, S/CT and G/TIP. Three
Task Force members also met with an interagency group at the
National Counterterrorism Center.

REINFORCING RULE OF LAW

9. (SBU) The visit was a success in moving forward USG rule
of law objectives. The prosecutors--all but two of whom had
never visited the United States before--were engaged
throughout the trip and clearly appreciated having the
opportunity to see the U.S. and study our criminal justice
system. Task Force members told us they were impressed with
the more active role that prosecutors play in the U.S. and
were hopeful that some aspects of the U.S. system would be
incorporated into the draft Criminal Procedure Code currently
under development in Indonesia. (Note: DOJ/OPDAT at Post
has worked extensively with the Indonesian drafting team to
assist the group in moving to a more adversarial,
evidence-based system -- ref C.)

10. (SBU) Group leader Soedibyo told us he was particularly
impressed with the JTTF and HIDTA and hoped that Indonesia
would adopt similar interagency models in the future. All
the prosecutors said they would share what they learned with
colleagues in a combined effort to improve their own criminal
justice system.

HUME

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