3 Legal Cases That Made Rizieq Shihab Imprisoned Until Finally Freed Today

Rizieq Shihab after undergoing an examination at Polda Metro Jaya, Jakarta. (Antara/Reno Esnir)

JAKARTA - Rizieq Shihab is free today Wednesday, July 20. The former frontman of the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) was released on parole after serving a prison term of about 1.5 years.

The Coordinator of Public Relations and Protocol of the Directorate General of PAS at the Ministry of Law and Human Rights, Rika Aprianti, said Rizieq was breathing free air after serving a period of detention since December 2020.

"The person concerned will get parole on July 20, 2022," said Rika when confirmed, Wednesday, July 20.

Rizieq was released on parole after obtaining the right of remission and integration in accordance with the Regulation of the Minister of Law and Human Rights of the Republic of Indonesia Number 7 of 2022.

Aziz Yanuar, a member of the Rizieq Syihab Advocacy Team, added that his client had served a criminal period as determined by the Supreme Court (MA) Number 4471K/Pid.Sus/2021 dated November 15, 2021.

"For this crime, Habib Rizieq Syihab has served 2/3 of his detention period. So he is entitled to take part in the parole program in accordance with applicable legal provisions," Aziz said in a written statement, Wednesday, July 20.

Rizieq has been serving a prison sentence at the Criminal Investigation Police's Detention Center (Rutan) for three different cases that ensnared him. He is officially free at 6:45 WIB today.

The three different cases that ensnared Rizieq were the swab test case of the Ummi Hospital in Bogor, the case of the crowd in Petamburan, and the crowd in Megamendung.

Case of Swab Test at Ummi Hospital, Bogor

Of the three cases, the heaviest sentence handed down to Rizieq was in the case of a swab test at the Ummi Hospital in Bogor.

The East Jakarta District Court (PN Jaktim) sentenced Rizieq to 4 years in prison because he was found guilty of spreading false news and causing trouble in the case.

The verdict, which was read out on Thursday, June 24, 2021, was lighter than the request by the Public Prosecutor who demanded Rizeq 6 years in prison.

The Petamburan Crowd Case

Meanwhile, in the case of the Petamburan crowd, the East Jakarta District Court sentenced Rizieq to 8 months in prison. He was found guilty of violating health protocols (prokes) related to the crowd at his daughter's wedding and the commemoration of the Prophet Muhammad's Birthday in Petamburan on November 14, 2020.

The violation of the Covid-19 process occurred a few days after Rizieq arrived in the country from Saudi Arabia.

The judge gave the same verdict to a row of former FPI officials, namely Ahmad Sobri Lubis, Haris Ubaidillah, Ali bin Alwi Alatas, Maman Suryadi, and Idrus.

The Chief Justice of the East Jakarta District Court, Suparman Nyompa, stated that Rizieq et al were proven to have violated the acts as stated in the third indictment, namely violating Article 93 of Law Number 6 of 2018 concerning Health Quarantine in conjunction with Article 55 paragraph (1) 1 of the Criminal Code.

However, in a different accusation, in the trial which also took place in the trial room of the East Jakarta District Court, Thursday 27 May 2021, the judge stated that Rizieq was not proven to have instigated the crowd in Petamburan.

Megamendung Crowd Case

In the case of the crowd in Megamendung, Bogor, Rizieq was found guilty and fined Rp. 20 million, subsidiary to 5 months in prison.

The judge considered that the Megamendung crowd violated the maximum limit of the prokes, Rizieq was found guilty for not supporting the government's pandemic program in order to suppress Covid-19 cases in Indonesia.

The crowd at Megamendung occurred on November 13, 2020.