Attorneys' Efforts For Suspension Of Detention Inconsistent With Bahar Smith's Attitude

Speaker Habib Bahar bin Smith at Polda Jabar (Photo: Raisan Al Farisi/Antara)

JAKARTA - The West Java Police have named Bahar bin Simth as a suspect in the hate speech case. In fact, investigators decided to arrest Bahar bin Smith.

The detention of Bahar bin Smith was based on two considerations. Starting from the subjective and objective considerations of the investigative team.

Karo Penmas, Police Public Relations Division, Brigadier General Ahmad Ramadhan, said that for subjective reasons, investigators thought that Bahar bin Smith had the potential to eliminate evidence in the case. In fact, it can repeat actions that violate the rules.

"The subjective reason is that investigators are worried that BS and TR will repeat the crime and destroy evidence," Ramadhan told reporters, Tuesday, January 4.

As for subjective reasons, continued Ramadhan, in this case the sanction in the article used was up to 5 years in prison. So, with those two reasons, Bahar bin Smith was decided to be detained.

"While the objective reason is the threat of punishment for the articles alleged to be above five years. So there are two reasons, the first is subjective and objective," said Ramadhan.

However, the investigator's decision to detain Bahar bin Smith was considered strange by the preacher's attorney. Especially, the underlying considerations.

Bahar bin Smith's attorney, Ichwan Tuankota said the reasons for fear of running away, eliminating evidence and repeating criminal acts were irrelevant. In fact, all this time, Bahar Smith has been cooperative and immediately complied with the investigator's summons.

"If it is related to the cooperative attitude of HBS (Habib Bahar Smith), the reason for the detention has absolutely no legal basis. HBS is a citizen who respects legal procedures as evidenced by his cooperative attitude, he immediately complied with the first summons of the police as a witness," he asserted.

Apart from that, Ichwan stated that his client had applied for a suspension of detention. The request was immediately made after the investigative team decided to detain Bahar bin Smith at the West Java Police detention center.

"It's been last night (the application for a suspension of detention, ed). The receipt is there," said Ichwan.

In the request for a suspension of detention, said Ichwan, Bahar bin Smith's friend became the guarantor. However, it is not specified who the guarantor is.

"Only from his friends. Only one person," he said.

However, the process of suspending detention seems to be inversely proportional to Bahar bin Smith's previous statement. Because, the lecturer had stated that he was immediately detained by investigators after being examined, showing that justice was dead.

"If I don't come out of the room later, or I go to prison, then I will say a little, that this is a form of injustice and democracy is dead," Bahar said at the time.

In addition, Bahar bin Smith was ready to be imprisoned. In fact, they are willing to sacrifice their lives for Indonesia.

"For me, for the sake of Islam, for the sake of the nation, for the people, for the sake of Indonesia, not to mention being imprisoned, my life is cheap," he continued