GPS News  
Indonesian Activists Report Snoozing Newmont Judges

The judges sitting in Manado District Court cleared in April the local subsidiary of Newmont and one of its executives, Richard Ness, of pumping toxic waste into a pristine bay from its now defunct gold mine on Sulawesi island.
by Staff Writers
Jakarta (AFP) June 21, 2007
Indonesian activists on Thursday submitted a complaint against judges who presided over the pollution trial of US mining giant Newmont, alleging they had dozed off during proceedings. The activists said they gave video recordings to the Supreme Court showing judges were "sleeping, chatting over the phone and among themselves and ignoring witnesses' presentations in court."

Footage aired for reporters here showed a judge appearing to take a catnap while a prosecutor's witness was testifying.

"There is enough evidence to show that the judges in this case violated the (judges') code of conduct and we hope the Supreme Court will respond swiftly," Mas Achmad Santosa, from the Indonesian Centre for Environmental Law (ICEL), told a press briefing.

"How can they judge the case independently and thoroughly if they missed parts of the case?"

The judges sitting in Manado District Court cleared in April the local subsidiary of Newmont and one of its executives, Richard Ness, of pumping toxic waste into a pristine bay from its now defunct gold mine on Sulawesi island.

The waste was alleged to have sickened villagers and poisoned marine life.

Indonesia's highest court has the authority to annul a verdict if it finds evidence that judges were not impartial.

But Santosa said the activists were using the case as "an entry point to appeal for a better justice system -- a system that is independent, objective and fair."

A lawyer for Newmont, Luhut Pangaribuan, told AFP when asked for a comment: "It has nothing to do with us."

He said he did not believe the court's verdict would be affected if the judges were sanctioned for breaking their code of conduct.

Head judge Ridwan Damanik told AFP in April that he and the other four judges had considered all of the evidence during the 20-month trial before reaching their verdict. Three of the judges were replaced during the trial.

Besides ICEL, groups submitting the complaint included environmental watchdog Walhi (Friends of the Earth) Indonesia, the Legal Aid Foundation and the Mining Advocacy Network.

Prosecutors have lodged an appeal in the case.

The verdict was applauded by foreign investors and Newmont, which had always denied the charges.

Environmentalists had hoped the verdict would send a warning to companies operating in Indonesia amid increased environmental degradation.

Source: Agence France-Presse

Related Links
Newmont
Our Polluted World and Cleaning It Up



Memory Foam Mattress Review
Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News


Human Noses To Sniff Out Pollutants Across China
Beijing (AFP) June 20, 2007
A dozen people with professional "noses" are set to help in the battle against pollution in southern China by sniffing out dangerous chemicals in the air, state media said Wednesday. The team will be employed by an environmental monitoring station in Guangzhou city to detect noxious gases released by chemical and rubber factories, as well as from rubbish dumps and sewers, the China Daily said.







  • F-35 Lightning 2 Pushing Ahead On All Fronts
  • EU And US Launch Airline Pollution Initiative
  • easyJet Plans Greener Aircraft By 2015
  • Airbus Wants To Cut CO2 Emissions By Half By 2020

  • US Senate Clinches Fuel Economy Deal
  • Hybrids Or Diesels A Tough Call For Nissan-Renault
  • Debate Heats Up In US Over Coal Fuel For Cars
  • Toyota To Make Diesel Engines With Isuzu

  • Boeing Showcases Operational TSAT System During Critical Review
  • Lockheed Martin Shifts Into Production Phase Of Navy Narrowband Tactical Satellite
  • First Wideband Global SATCOM Satellite Packed And Ready For Shipment
  • Major Integration Milestone Achieved On Advanced Military Communications Satellite

  • Russia And Azerbaijan Confirm Readiness To Host US Anti-Missile System
  • MDA Test Fires Kinetic Energy Interceptor Motor
  • Putin Plays The BMD Game For Keeps
  • Northrop Grumman And Raytheon Team Completes Third Successful KEI Motor-Fire Test

  • Wines Knocked Into Carbon Reduction
  • Banned Chinese GM Rice Protein Found In Dutch Shipment To Cyprus
  • Down On The Virtual Farm With GrassGro 3
  • Annan Leads Drive To Reverse African Farming Decline

  • New Orleans Still At Risk Of Serious Flooding
  • Water Spray Latest Headache For Indonesian Mudflow Engineers
  • Building House Forms And Shapes For Better Hurricane Endurance
  • Contract Signed For Building Of GMES Sentinel-1 Satellite

  • Scientists Demonstrate High-Performing Room-Temperature Nanolaser
  • ESA And Inmarsat Prepare For Alphasat
  • Wind River Carrier-Grade Linux Goes To Space
  • Nanoparticles Unlock The Future Of Superalloy Metals

  • Japanese Humanoid Is Working In The Rain
  • Japanese Robot Receptionists For Hire
  • Japanese Researchers Help Robots Brush Up Communication Skills
  • Guessing Robots Predict Their Environments For Better Navigation

  • The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright Space.TV Corporation. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space.TV Corp on any Web page published or hosted by Space.TV Corp. Privacy Statement