SUMMARY:

On Monday, March 30, the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) was scheduled to face three separate pre-trial hearings at the South Jakarta District Court. Former Religious Affairs minister Suryadharma Ali, former director general of taxation Hadi Poernomo and former Pertamina director Suroso Atmo Martoyo filed separate challenges to their status as corruption suspects, following in the footsteps of police general Budi Gunawan whose controversial motion at the court saw charges against him dropped. The judge handling Suryadharma Ali’s case adjourned proceedings until tomorrow to allow the anti-graft agency to prepare a letter off assignment for its legal team. Hearings for Suroso and Hadi Poernomo’s motions were also postponed for one and two weeks, respectively, after KPK legal counsel failed to appear in court. KPK legal bureau chief Chatarina Mulyana Girsang denied that the KPK delays were part of an intentional strategy to buy time to bring the cases to trial. She explained that the busy court schedule placed the anti-graft agency at a disadvantage – overstretching its legal experts – which is why the KPK has asked for the court to offer a more accommodating schedule.

The KPK is scheduled to attend a total of four pre-trial hearings on Monday, April 6, to defend against challenges from former Makassar mayor Ilham Arief Sirajuddin, a suspect in a Bangkalan regency graft case, and Democratic Party cofounder and former House of Representatives (DPR) energy committee chairman Sutan Bhatoegana, in addition to the resumption of hearings against Suroso. Proceedings against Sutan are expected to be a mere formality, following the Friday, March 27 ruling that his pre-trial challenge was automatically void, in line with the Criminal Law Procedures Code (KUHAP), since his dossier had been sent to the Jakarta Corruption Court for prosecution. The session on April 6 is required to formally end the pre-trial process.

On Sunday, March 29, Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) continued to criticize the proposal of Law and Human Rights Minister Yasonna Laoly, which would restore the provision of sentence reductions for corruption suspects. The coordinator for ICW’s legal monitoring division, Emerson Yuntho, challenged Yasonna to launch a public opinion survey regarding the proposed revisions. Emerson said the policy was a political blunder out of step with President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s campaign pledges, and was solidly unpopular among the public.

On Saturday, March 28, legal counsel for former deputy Law and Human Rights minister Denny Indrayana told media the online passport application system at the heart of corruption charges against his client had been supported by a ministerial decree, and therefore was already brought to the attention of then minister Amir Syamsuddin. When the National Police questioned Amir as a witness in the case, the former minister said he withdrew his initial support for the program due to objections from the Finance Ministry. Denny’s lawyer claimed the Finance Ministry had been duplicitous in its handling of the situation, by providing initial budget approval only to later claim the program lacked a legal basis. Denny’s lawyer also attempted to distance his client from responsibility for the program, saying that Amir was the head of the team in charge of developing and implementing the payment gateway. National Police investigators allege that Denny exceeded his authority by appointing two vendors for the online payment gateway, adding that the alleged state losses caused by the system constituted corruption. Denny has maintained his innocence, and claims the charges against him are a form of politically motivated retribution for his anti-corruption activism and support of the KPK.

KEY DEVELOPMENTS:

Wednesday, March 25 – Denny Indrayana charged as corruption suspect

Friday, March 27 – Denny Indrayana undergoes first questioning as corruption suspect

Friday, March 27 – Judicial Commission issues summons for Sarpin Rizaldi to appear on April 2

Friday, March 27 – South Jakarta District Court rules Sutan Bhatoegana’s pre-trial motion void upon case being brought to trial.

Monday, March 30 – KPK receives extensions on three pre-trial motions as proceedings are adjourned

IMPLICATIONS:

The KPK scored an important legal victory at the South Jakarta District Court on Friday, March 27, which ruled that a pre-trial motion must be automatically dismissed if the case is brought to trial. This victory potentially has large implications for the KPK’s immediate current legal situation, as it faces up to six pre-trial challenges. The anti-graft agency is reportedly in the advanced stages of its investigation into Suroso, and this opening might be a potential avenue to quash yet another pre-trial motion for dismissal. In the long term, the KPK may alter its investigative strategy such that it charges suspects only days before bringing the case before the court, thus minimizing the time available for pre-trial motions. KPK staff have continued to push the commissioners to file an appeal (peninjauan kembali – PK) at the Supreme Court to get legal clarity on the use of pre-trial motions to challenge a suspect’s status. The Criminal Code is explicit in this regard, and states that a suspect cannot challenge his or her status via pre-trial motion; however the Supreme Court has indicated on several occasions that existing laws only allow for defendants to file an appeal, and thus prevent the KPK from being able to do so. A number of analysts have argued that there is room for interpretation in this regard, but the KPK continues to tread lightly in the current political climate. Although the opening created in the Sutan case presents a circuitous solution, the use of pre-trial motions is likely to plague other law enforcement agencies, including the police and the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) until further legal certainty is provided on the matter.

In statements on Monday, March 30, Suryadharma Ali claimed that the charges against him were motivated by political rivalry. He claimed that as an active supporter of Prabowo Subianto, Jokowi’s rival in the presidential election, he was unfairly targeted by inactive KPK Chair Abraham Samad, who he alleged was a PDI-P supporter. Widespread and entrenched practices of graft and corruption have been well-documented at the ministry. Suryadharma’s claims, thus far without any proof, are a transparent attempt to further damage the reputation of Abraham Samad.

Statements from Denny Indrayana’s lawyer today were of a markedly different tone than has been presented thus far in his case. Rather than focusing on the political persecution angle, the comments attempted to distance Denny from his former boss and full responsibility for the online passport system. Despite the statements, former minister Amir Syamsuddin backed Denny’s assertions that the program was created to root out middlemen and corrupt practices that had plagued the old system, and that the online payment gateway transferred all funds collected to the state coffers.

Information as of 5:30 p.m. WIB, March 30, 2015