Life Imprisonment Request For Colonel Priyanto According To The Wishes Of TNI Commander Andika Perkasa

JAKARTA - The sentence for life imprisonment given to the defendant in the murder of two lovebirds in Nagreg, Colonel Infantry Priyanto, refers to the direction of the TNI Commander General Andika Perkasa.

Even though there have been direct directions from the commander in chief, the military prosecutors are still considering all the facts at trial. This includes aggravating and mitigating matters when compiling a claim.

"When the Commander issues a statement (statement, ed.) it will be a benchmark for us, but the most important thing is the facts at trial," said Jakarta Second Military Prosecutor, Colonel Sus Wirdel Boy at the Jakarta High Military Court II, Thursday, April 21.

The TNI Commander in December 2021 told the media that his party planned to impose the harshest sentence on Priyanto as stipulated in Article 340 of the Criminal Code which regulates the crime of premeditated murder. At that time Andika mentioned the possibility that Priyanto would be prosecuted for life.

The Commander's directive was then in line with the demands read out by the High Military Prosecutor II Jakarta during the trial, Thursday. Wirdel asked the panel of judges to sentence Colonel Priyanto to life in prison.

The military prosecutor explained that the defendant was proven guilty of premeditated murder, kidnapping, and hiding the deaths of two victims, namely Handi Saputra and Salsabila.

The demand for life imprisonment is the maximum penalty given by the Prosecutor to the defendant as regulated in Article 340 of the Criminal Code in conjunction with Article 55 paragraph 1 1 of the Criminal Code. In addition to life imprisonment, another maximum sentence that can be given to a convicted murderer is the death penalty.

"Our demands are based on facts at trial. After we found the facts, I, as the High Military Auditor, reported to the head, and our demands were closed at the TNI Ordinary General," Wirdel said, quoted from Antara.

The Jakarta High Military Oditurat II chose to demand life imprisonment for Priyanto rather than the death penalty, because the defendant showed remorse and he had never been involved in a legal case before.

"Those two considerations are factors that lighten Priyanto's demands," said Wirdel when reading out the demands.

Another mitigating factor was that the defendant was judged by the Prosecutor to be honest and admit his actions so that it facilitated the examination process.

Wirdel continued to mention the aggravating things about the charges, namely that he involved his subordinates when committing crimes of murder, kidnapping, and attempts to hide the death/corpse of the victim.

Priyanto, a middle-ranking Indonesian Army officer, is on trial at the Jakarta High Military Court II for the murders of Handi Saputra and Salsabila.

Colonel Priyanto and his two subordinates, Corporal Two (Kopda) Andreas Dwi Atmoko and Corporal One (Koptu) A Sholeh were hit by both Handi and Salsabila in Nagreg, then their bodies were dumped into the Serayu River by Colonel Priyanto.