Jakarta Globe, Carlos Paath, Mar 16, 2015
Jakarta. A
63-year-old woman, who was arrested three months ago on suspicion that she had
taken wood from a teak plantation managed by state-owned forestry firm
Perhutani, was released from an East Java jail on Monday following a public
outcry.
Asyani was
sent into a police detention center in the East Java district of Situbondo on
Dec. 15, after Perhutani reported her to police for the alleged theft.
The company
reportedly noticed that 38 wooden beams had disappeared from its plantation,
and that the items were found at Asyani’s house in Secangan village in
Jatibanteng subdistrict, not far from the plantation.
The alleged
theft apparently took place five years ago.
Asyani
works as a traditional masseuse in her village. Her son-in-law, though, is a
carpenter based in the same village.
The court
in Situbondo ordered her release on Monday, but added that the case against her
would still proceed. Asyani has been charged for violating the forest
protection law and may face up to five years in prison.
Environment
and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya said on Monday that she and President Joko
Widodo would continue to monitor the case.
“The
president is concerned about this case. Pak Jokowi is quite sensitive about
such things,” Siti said.
“Last
Friday, he asked me about the progress of the case and I have reported all the
details to him.”
The
minister said Asyani, who was first reported as being 45 years of age, was
granted a release due to her age and health condition.
“The
alleged offense also occurred five years ago. We have to understand Asyani’s
condition,” Siti said.
“This also
serves to show people that our law is non-discriminatory,” she added, in
reference to criticism that law is only enforced when the perpetrators are poor
people, while corporate executives guilty of larger crimes of deforestation
have remained largely untouchable.
Asyani’s
lawyer, Supriono, has maintained that the teak beams found at Asyani’s house
did not belong to Perhutani. He said the beams were made when Asyani’s late
husband cut down his own teak trees five years ago, when he was still alive.
Perhutani claims
that it had lost Rp 4 million ($300) because of the alleged theft.
The case
has drawn attention from students, politicians and environmentalists, who have
urged the police to release Asyani.
No comments:
Post a Comment