JURIST - Paper Chase: Indonesia judge rules Suharto civil corruption case will continue

[JURIST] An Indonesian court ruled Tuesday that the children of former Indonesian President Haji Mohammed Suharto [BBC profile; JURIST news archive] will have to defend Suharto's estate against a civil corruption case. A prosecutor said that all of Suharto's six children will be summoned to court next week, and one will be appointed to represent Suharto in further proceedings. Suharto, who ruled Indonesia from 1967 to 1998, faced government charges that he embezzled $440 million from the Yayasan Supersemar [official website], a state-funded scholarship fund, between 1974 and 1998. He died [JURIST report] in late January. Prosecutors are seeking to recover $440 million in diverted state funds [JURIST report] and $1.1 billion in damages from Suharto's estate.

Suharto presided over what is considered one of the most brutal dictatorships of the 20th century with as many as one million political opponents killed during his time in power. Earlier criminal corruption charges were dropped because Suharto was rendered unable to speak or write [JURIST reports] as a result of several strokes. Reuters has more.

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