Responding To Prosecutor's Demands, Hasto's Attorney: This Is Engineering And Political Order

JAKARTA - The attorney for the Secretary-General of the PDIP, Hasto Kristiyanto, Ronny Talapessy, assessed that the indictment read by the Public Prosecutor (JPU) at the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) in the alleged case of alleged bribery in the arrangement of replacements between the DPR's 2019-2024 period and the obstruction of Harun Masiku's investigation was unfounded. The claim is considered full of assumptions.

"This demand is very baseless. Prosecutors are illogical, not based on the facts of the trial that has existed so far," said Ronny during a trial break at the Jakarta Corruption Court, Thursday, July 3.

According to him, all the basis for the prosecution is only to repeat the initial construction built by KPK investigators. In addition, it does not stand on the facts of the trial.

"The basis for the demands is only to rearrange the stories that have been constructed by investigators from the start, and are not based on what we tested and revealed in court," he said.

Ronny also questioned the evidence mentioned by the prosecutor in the indictment, including the alleged involvement of Hasto in the practice of bribery.

"If you say you are involved in bribery, what is the real thing? Who hears directly, who sees it directly? Nothing. Friends can see for themselves, from all the key witnesses at the trial for bribes from Harun Masiku, not Hasto Kristiyanto," said Ronny.

Likewise with allegations of obstruction to the investigation. According to him, this matter does not have a solid basis.

"If you say you are involved in the obstruction of the investigation, what is the real thing like? Obtaining who?" The key witness explained that Mr. 2 were well-built, not Hasto Kristiyanto, why were the 2 people not examined by the Kpk, said Ronny.

In fact, the testimony of forensic experts that had been presented by the prosecutor at trial actually weakened the accusation.

"The forensic expert presented by the KPK prosecutor himself even stated that there was no evidence of the cellphone that was said to have been submerged," he said.

Ronny said that the demands of the KPK prosecutor were only based on fabricated stories and did not respect the role of due process of law. It is considered, the case that ensnared his client was full of political nuances.

"The prosecutor's demands are only based on a series of stories from KPK investigators who even during the investigation of this case violated the principles of due process of law," he said.

"The truth is don't blame, the wrong thing is not justified. This is not a corruption trial, but a trial that is made only for political orders. This is legal engineering, this is political politicization and revenge and Mas Hasto is ready to answer this accusation with his pledoi next week," continued Ronny.

Ronny also criticized the prosecutor's prosecution style, which according to him emphasized logic too much without sufficient evidence.

"I heard earlier, every time I read the elements, the Public Prosecutor always mentions 'logically or non-logically', even though the prosecutor must not impose logical interpretation of an event without a valid and convincing basis of evidence," he said.

"The prosecutor should not just "logify" events; he is obliged to prove them legally, fairly, and morally, because the law is not a tool to justify assumptions, but a means to uphold the truth," continued Ronny.

In this case, Hasto was charged together with advocate Donny Tri Istiqomah, former PDIP cadre Saeful Bahri, and Harun Masiku were charged with giving bribes of Rp 600 million to Wahyu Setiawan (KPU commissioner) in the 2019-2020 period.

This bribe is so that Wahyu seeks the KPU to approve the application of PAW for the South Sumatra Election Candidate (Sumsel) I on behalf of DPR members for the 2019-2024 period Riezky Aprilia to Harun Masiku.

Hasto was also charged with obstructing the investigation by ordering Harun, through the Aspiration House guard, Nur Hasan, to submerge Harun's cell phone into the water after the KPK OTT incident against Wahyu Setiawan.

Not only Harun Masiku's cellphone, Hasto is also said to have ordered his aide, Kusnadi, to drown his cell phone in anticipation of forced attempts by KPK investigators.

Hasto was charged with Article 21 and Article 5 paragraph (1) letter a or Article 13 of Law (UU) Number 31 of 1999 concerning Eradication of Criminal Acts of Corruption as amended and supplemented by Law Number 20 of 2001 in conjunction with Article 65 paragraph (1) and Article 55 paragraph (1) 1 in conjunction with Article 64 paragraph (1) of the Criminal Code.