The Wiranto Indictment And The Application For An Arrest Warrant Remain Pending With The Special Panel For Serious Crimes

On 18 February 2004, an International Judge at the Special Panels for Serious Crimes responded to a motion filed by the Deputy General Prosecutor for Serious Crimes on 28 January 2004 requesting a public hearing regarding
the pending application for an arrest warrant for General Wiranto. In a written decision, the Special Panel Judge denied the motion of the Deputy Prosecutor General with the argument, inter alia, that such an oral hearing was not provided for in the regulations of the Special Panels.

To clarify the present status of the General Wiranto case, the indictment against General Wiranto and the arrest warrant applied for remain pending at the Special Panel for Serious Crimes.

The indictment filed against General Wiranto, 6 other high-level Indonesian military commanders and one East Timorese official was filed at the Special Panel for Serious Crimes on 24 February 2003. The indictment alleges that
under international law, General Wiranto, at the time Minister of Defense and Head of the Indonesian Armed Forces, was responsible for Crimes Against Humanity: murder, deportation and persecution for failing to punish or prevent crimes committed by his subordinates or those acting under his effective control in the period before and after the 1999 popular consultation in East Timor.

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