Febri Diansyah Values SYL's Arrest Process Raises Many Questions

Attorney For Former Minister Of Agriculture (Mentan) Syahrul Yasin Limpo, Febri Diansyah

Attorney for the former Minister of Agriculture (Mentan) Syahrul Yasin Limpo, Febri Diansyah, assessed that his client's arrest on Thursday, October 12 night raised many questions. The process is considered rushed compared to other corruption cases.

"The series of processes is so fast and when compared to the process of summoning other suspects, of course there are so many (generating, red) questions," Febri told reporters at the KPK's Merah Putih building, Kuningan Persada, South Jakarta, Friday, October 13, early in the morning.

Febri then said that the arrest warrant had been issued by the KPK on Wednesday, October 11 at the same time as the first summons. However, Syahrul at that time stated that he could not attend and submitted a request for rescheduling.

The reason was that the NasDem Party politician had to go to Makassar to meet his 88-year-old mother and was sick. This request is considered to have been accepted because the KPK issued a second summons with the date of Friday, October 13.

Even so, Syahrul was still arrested based on a letter issued on Wednesday, October 11. However, Febri refused to say who signed the letter.

As for the information received, the arrest warrant was signed by KPK Chairman Firli Bahuri. He is referred to as a leader and investigator.

As previously reported, Syahrul was arrested in the Kebayoran area, South Jakarta on Thursday night. He immediately underwent an examination at the KPK's Red and White Building.

The KPK has announced Syahrul and two of his subordinates, Secretary General of the Ministry of Agriculture Kasdi Subagyono and Director of Agricultural Equipment of the Ministry of Agriculture Muhammad Hatta as suspects on Wednesday, October 11. All three were involved in allegations of extortion and gratification. In this case, Syahrul through his two subordinates is suspected of extorting his employees by requiring to pay deposits every month. The nominal varies between 4,000-10,000 US dollars. The money collected is believed to have not only come from the realization of the Ministry of Agriculture's budget inflated or mark-ups but from vendors working on the project. The provision of money is made in cash, transfers and goods.