SUMMARY:

On Wednesday, March 18, the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) announced it would press on with investigations into corruption suspects Sutan Bhatoegana and Suryadharma Ali despite the pre-trial motions that had been filed to dispute the charges. Former Religious Affairs minister Suryadharma Ali has twice skipped KPK questioning, and skipping a third session would provide the KPK with the legal authority to forcibly detain him. KPK spokesman Priharsa Nugraha said he was unsure as to whether Suryadharma Ali would be detained, as Sutan Bhatoegana had been a number of weeks ago.

During questioning at the KPK on Tuesday, March 17, graft convict and former Democrat party treasurer Muhammad Nazaruddin continued to implicate members of former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s (SBY) Democrat party. Nazaruddin told investigators that former Democrat party chairman Anas Urbaningrum, who was convicted and sentenced to eight years in prison for his involvement in the graft-ridden Hambalang sporting complex case, had accepted bribes from the Permai Group in exchange for procurement contracts for medical supplies destined for the Udayana University Hospital in Bali. Nazaruddin alleged that the bribe money had also been shared with members of the House of Representatives (DPR) and had been used in part to support SBY’s reelection bid in 2009. The secretary of the Democrat faction in the DPR, Didik Mukriyanto, dismissed the allegations as baseless.

The prosecution of Bonaran Situmeang, the former head of Central Tapanuli district in North Sumatra, proceeded at Jakarta Anti-Corruption Court (TIPIKOR) on Tuesday. Bonaran stands accused of paying

Rp 1.8 billion in bribes to former Constitutional Court chief justice Akil Mochtar in exchange for a favorable ruling in a local election dispute. Bonaran alleged that the KPK’s prosecution was politically motivated, a defense the panel of judges quickly dismissed before ordering the trial to proceed. Akil has been sentenced to life in prison for bribery.

A district court judge in West Kalimantan struck down a pre-trial on Tuesday, March 17. Judge Sugeng Warmanto of the Pontianak District Court ruled that a suspect’s status could not be challenged in pre-trial proceedings, dashing the hopes of Juju Tanuwijaya, who stands accused of operating an illegal gold mine in the area. The decision was celebrated by local environmentalists, and the local police, for its strict interpretation of the Criminal Code, which does not allow for such challenges. This is the second pre-trial motion to have been struck down by a district court, following a similar decision byCentral Java’s Purwokerto District Court on March 10.

Former Jakarta transportation chief Udar Pristono filed a pre-trial motion at the Central Jakarta District Court on Wednesday, March 18, to sue for the return of assets seized by state attorneys in connection to charges of money laundering. He also filed a counterclaim of Rp 1.07 trillion in damages. Pristono is accused of causing sizeable state losses through bid-fixing and money laundering in the procurement of busses for the TransJakarta bus system in 2013. He claimed the assets that were seized had been in his possession long before 2013, and were therefore unrelated.

On Wednesday, March 18, the Judicial Commission announced it would call a number of witnesses this week in its probe of Supreme Court judge Timur Manurung, who is suspected of ethical violations. Manurung is alleged to have had dinner with Kwee Cahyadi Kumala, a defendant in on-going corruption trial, on several occasions. Cahyadi is alleged to have paid Rp 4 billion in bribes to former Bogor district head Rahmat Yasin in exchange for building permits for PT Bukit Jonggol Asri. Rahmat has been convicted and sentenced to five-and-a-half years in prison, while the deal’s middleman, Yohan Yap, was sentenced to four years behind bars. The KPK was scheduled to question a witness in Chayadi’s case at its headquarters on Wednesday, March 18.

On Wednesday, March 18, acting National Police chief Badrodin Haiti called for expansion of the terrorism law to provide new powers, ostensibly to fight ISIS. Law enforcement agencies have been frustrated in their fight against the recruitment of Indonesian citizens to join Islamic fighters in Syria, due to a lack of appropriate legislation. However, some worry that in light of the current political climate, the police’s calls for a broader definition of what constitutes a “conspiracy against the state” could be used as a political weapon to silence civil society groups.

KEY DEVELOPMENTS:

Wednesday, March 11 – National Police announce cases against inactive KPK commissioners will be delayed

Thursday, March 12 – Bambang Widjojanto delivers letter requesting delay of investigation to National Police

Thursday, March 12 – Denny Indrayana refuses to answer police questions without legal counsel

Friday, March 13 – Badrodin Haiti pledges to resume investigations into Bambang, Abraham next month

Sunday, March 15 – Attorney General states KPK case on Budi Gunawan is lacking evidence and will be sent to police for follow-up

Monday, March 16 – Corruption suspect Hadi Poernomo files pre-trial motion for dismissal

Tuesday, March 17 – Busyro Muqqodas calls for Supreme Court intervention against pre-trial motions

Tuesday, March 17 – Nazaruddin implicates a number of Democrat party officials in testimony at KPK

Tuesday, March 17 –

Wednesday, March 18 – KPK announces it will press forward with investigations despite pre-trial motions

Wednesday, March 18 – Pontianak District Court judge strikes down pre-trial motion to review suspect’s legal status

Wednesday, March 18 – Udar Pristono files counterclaim against AGO for property seizures

IMPLICATIONS:

The KPK’s announcement of significant progress in a number of high-profile cases suggests that a number of destabilizing transitional issues, related to the installment of interim KPK commissioners, have not stalled the work of the Commission. Interim KPK Chair Taufiqurrahman Ruki’s media statements, which drew the ire of many KPK supporters, have been much more tightly controlled over the previous week, and it appears that his vision to make as much progress as possible on outstanding cases before the end of the commissioners’ terms at the end of the year is now in full effect. It remains to be seen whether the KPK will be able to overcome a perceived weakness that has emboldened graft suspects to dodge summons for questioning.

The emergence of a second district court ruling to deny a suspect the right to challenge their legal status comes as a welcome development, especially ahead of pre-trial hearings for Suryadharma Ali and Sutan Bhatoegana, which will once again put the credibility of the KPK on the line. The anti-graft agency can ill afford another loss, considering the low levels of staff morale and the damage Budi Gunawan’s case did to its public image.

The Judicial Commission’s inquiry into Supreme Court judge Timur Manurung also comes as a welcome development. For a judge to meet privately with a defendant in an ongoing case, even if that case is not being heard in his/her court, is suspicious and must be investigated thoroughly and fairly.

Information as of 5:30 p.m. WIB, March 18, 2015