E/CN.4/2000/4/Add.2 page 18 the United Nations Office at Geneva, the Working Group expressed its appreciation to the Government of Indonesia for the prisoners' release. 70. The Group interviewed several prisoners at Tanggeran women's prison in Jakarta and at Becora prison in Dili who claimed that they had not appealed their sentences because they had been made to understand by the judge either that it would be futile or that the sentence would be increased on appeal. One woman detained at Tanggeran prison, who had been sentenced to two years' imprisonment, claimed that she had been told that she could appeal if she paid a certain amount of money to the court. Whereas her co-defendants paid this sum and had their sentences reduced on appeal, she and her husband were unable to do so and had their sentences confirmed. Such practices, which are patently illegal, are also incompatible with the principle of impartiality and independence of the judiciary. Right to be presumed innocent until found guilty as charged 71. Dita Indah Sari, a member of the PRD/PPBI who is currently serving a five-year sentence at Tanggeran women's prison, informed the Group that throughout her 11-month pre-trial detention, the presumption of innocence in her and her co-defendants' case was severely compromised by public statements of the authorities about her, as well as propaganda against her in the media before and during the trial. This assessment was shared by another PRD member detained at another prison (Cipinang). Right to remain at liberty pending prosecution and adjudication 72. According to the Deputy Attorney-General, the vast majority of individuals charged with criminal offences are detained pending trial. The percentage of those who remain free, even on bail, is “minimal” on the admission of the authorities themselves. Release on bail is decided upon by the authority by which the individual is detained - the police during the initial stage, the prosecutor at the subsequent stage and the judge at the final stage. The amount of bail is set by the authority detaining the individual and thus by the police at the initial stage which, apparently, often exposes police officers and other authorities to the temptation of corruption. These practices are incompatible with article 9, paragraph 3, of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, pursuant to which detention pending trial should be the exception and not the rule. Right to be brought promptly before a judge or other officer authorized by law to exercise judicial power 73. An individual may be detained for the purposes of the preliminary inquiry for a period of up to 60 days without there being any legal obligation to present this individual before a prosecutor; similarly, it is not a legal obligation to present this person before a judge during the 170 subsequent days (see paras. 33-34 above). The competent authority must, however, notify the detained person of the prolongation of his/her detention (art. 21, paras. 1-3 of the Code of Criminal Procedure). In the course of its visit, the Working Group was informed by a number of detainees at Metro Polda Jaya