Attorney Explains the Reason Kerry Riza Asked Abolisi to Prabowo

JAKARTA - Muhamad Kerry Adrianto Riza, Beneficial Owner of PT Navigator Katulistiwa, has requested the abolition of President Prabowo Subianto in the corruption case of crude oil and refinery products management of PT Pertamina.

The letter was sent to the Ministry of State Secretariat on Wednesday, April 1.

"Yes, we have applied for abolition," Kerry's lawyer, Hafid Kance, told reporters, Thursday, April 2.

Similar applications were also filed by other defendants, namely the President Director of PT Orbit Terminal Merak (OTM) Gading Ramadhan Joedo and Commissioner of PT Jenggala Maritim Nusantara (JMN) Dimas Werhaspati.

The letter was sent to a number of officials, including the head of the Supreme Court Sunarto, Attorney General ST Burhanuddin, Minister of Law Supratman Andi Agtas, Chairman of the Judicial Commission Abdul Chair Ramadhan, Chairman of Commission III of the DPR Habiburokhman, Chairman of Komnas HAM Anis Hidayah, to the Head of the Jakarta High Court Nugroho Setiadji.

Hafid said this application was made because of a number of irregularities during his client's legal proceedings. The Jakarta Corruption Court sentenced Kerry Riza to 15 years in prison, a fine of Rp1 billion and Rp2.9 trillion in compensation.

Meanwhile, Gading and Dimas were each sentenced to 13 years in prison and a fine of Rp1 billion. The three of them are currently appealing.

"We make this request because of criminalization, serious irregularities, violations of due process of law, and a misguided trial in the corruption case at PT Pertamina. The judicial process is only a formality to meet the target of punishment," he said.

Among the irregularities were searches without an official call-up letter and a brief examination before detention. Gading and Dimas also experienced this condition.

Hafid further recalled the initial narrative delivered by the Attorney General's Office regarding the alleged fuel oil with state losses of up to trillions of rupiah, which he said did not appear in the indictment.

"The indictment shifted to the accusation of conspiracy to contract the TBBM and ship lease with a loss of Rp. 2.9 trillion and US$ 9.8 million and Rp. 1 billion," he said.

Then the trial was called Hafid was also inhumane because it was late at night. "In the last two months, the defendant was only given less than 7.5 hours to present all the witnesses a de charge and experts. The judge also handles other cases simultaneously so that he does not have enough time to study the file," he explained.

Furthermore, Hafid said the judge's considerations were also considered not to reflect the facts of the trial. For example, the testimony of witnesses who were not present was actually used as a basis for consideration while the witnesses who were present and denied pressure were ignored.

In addition, he said that the implementation of legal provisions such as the principle of know your customer (KYC) and the cabotage principle were actually considered to be acts against the law.

"In fact, both are the implementation of Bank Mandiri's KYC (know your customer) and the cabotage principle in accordance with Law Number 17 of 2008 concerning Shipping. There is no violation of the tender procedure," he said.

Hafid also denied that there was a state loss in the case. He said that the Merak Fuel Terminal was still operating and was profitable for Pertamina.

"The calculation of losses of Rp. 2.9 trillion using the total loss method, even though PT Pertamina obtained a profit of US$ 524 million and an efficiency of Rp. 8.7 trillion," he said.

He also touched on changes to regulations in the SOE Law, which he said the judges had not considered.

"The verdict (Kerry Riza Cs) was given after this law came into force, but the judge ignored the principle of lex mitior," he said.

Hafid on this occasion stated that this case has a wide impact on the investment climate because it is considered to criminalize legitimate business decisions.

"One of the members of the panel of judges delivered a dissenting opinion stating that it was not proven that there was an act against the law, a legitimate business decision, no bribes, and it was unfair to impose a return of Rp. 2.9 trillion," he said.

The abolition request was supported by the views of 15 legal experts from 14 universities who assessed that there was a miscarriage of justice. "Based on all the explanations, we respectfully request that the President in accordance with his authority be pleased to grant abolition to the defendants Muhamad Kerry Adrianto Riza, Gading Ramadhan Joedo, and Dimas Werhaspati as provided for in Article 14 paragraph (2) of the Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia State Law of 1945 in conjunction with Emergency Law Number 11 of 1954 concerning Amnesty and Abolition," he hoped.

So, President Prabowo Subianto is asked to pay attention to his client along with the other two defendants.

"So that the President is willing to provide legal protection for Kerry, Gading, and Dimas as citizens whose constitutional rights to a fair trial have been violated in a tangible manner," said Hafid.

"Mr. President, we believe that justice is the soul of the rule of law. We believe in the integrity of the President as the last bastion of justice for his people," he concluded.