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