Indonesian court adjourns Suharto's corruption trial
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JAKARTA, Indonesia -- A five-judge panel adjourned Indonesian President Suharto's corruption trial shortly after it opened on Thursday, after the former leader failed to appear in court and his attorneys said he was too ill to stand trial.
The judges adjourned proceedings until September 14 to allow an independent team of doctors to examine the 79-year-old former president.
Suharto is accused of illegally amassing hundreds of millions of dollars during his presidency.
The trial opened amid tight security at 11 a.m. (0300 GMT).
Lawyers say Suharto has brain damage
"This morning, Suharto's medical team consisting of 23 doctors checked the health of our client and concluded he was sick," said Felix Tampubolon, Suharto's lead defense lawyer."Because of that, he could not face the court," Tampubolon told the five-judge panel, chaired by chief judge Lalu Mariyun.
While defense lawyers have said previously that Suharto is unable to understand simple questions, several state-appointed doctors who examined him said they believe he is healthy enough to stand trial.
But on Thursday, a short time before the trial opened, Denny Kailimang, a member of Suharto's eight-person defense, told reporters that the former president would not appear in court.
"It is not possible," he said, just minutes after the doctors had finished examining Suharto, in the former president's central Jakarta residence.
Suharto's lawyers have said in the past that the former president --
who suffered strokes after leaving office in May, 1998 -- has severe brain
damage, and that he suffers from kidney stones and diabetes.
$583 million allegedly stolen from charities
Formal charges were laid against Suharto on August 3. He is accused of misusing funds from seven charities that he chaired. The indictment alleges Suharto stole $583 million from those organizations. Suharto has denied any wrongdoing.The indictment also alleges that Suharto skimmed 2 percent of Indonesia's income tax revenue, took funds from sales taxes and snatched a percentage from the monthly paychecks of civil servants and military personnel.
Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid has said he would pardon Suharto if convicted, but that he wanted the former president to return any illegally obtained funds.
While Wahid has said that Suharto is too old to go through the trial
process, he said it is important the trial proceed to prove that nobody
is above the law.
Heavy security
Approximately 1,200 police were deployed to the trial site on Thursday, a day after a small bomb exploded in an unoccupied bus less than 300 meters (990 feet) from the courtroom.Nobody was hurt in the blast, and damage was minimal. Police said the bomb had been made of gunpowder from dozens of fireworks. They said they believed the blast was message to the trial's participants.
"It is an act of terror to intimidate people before the trial starts," Jakarta's chief detective, Col. Hair Mantilla, said.
The trial had been moved to a reception hall at the Agriculture Ministry in southern Jakarta due to space and security concerns.
Suharto ruled the world's fourth most populous nation for 32 years until he stepped aside amid widespread protests.
