MAKI Asks Harun Masiku To Be Tried In-Absentia, KPK: There Is No Urgency Yet

KPK fugitive Harun Masiku (ANTARA)

JAKARTA - Head of the KPK News Section Ali Fikri emphasized that there is no interest in hearing former PDIP candidate Harun Masiku in-absentia or absence. He said the search for former KPU commissioner Wahyu Setiawan was still ongoing.

This was conveyed by Ali in response to the pretrial trial filed by the Coordinator of the Indonesian Anti-Corruption Society (MAKI) Boyamin Saiman. In one of its petitums, the anti-corruption commission was asked to try Harun in-absentia because his whereabouts were not yet known.

"So far there has been no interest or urgency from in-absentia," Ali told reporters quoted on Wednesday, January 24.

Ali explained that the case that ensnared Harun Masiku was bribery. Meanwhile, in-absentia is usually applied in trials related to state losses.

Moreover, Harun has also been looking for his whereabouts. "We never stopped that, yes," he said.

"If then the pretrial, yes, for us from the legal point of view, then the legal basis is the reason for their rights," continued Ali.

Previously, MAKI sued the KPK to ask Harun Masiku to be tried in-absentia or without a presence. This lawsuit was filed at the South Jakarta District Court (PN).

"On the reluctance of the KPK for the in-absentia trial, I argued that the KPK had stopped the material investigation," Boyamin said in a written statement, Friday, January 19.

He hopes that the lawsuit he filed will be broken so that Harun Masiku's business will be completed soon. Boyamin said the lawsuit filed was in the form of a pretrial because it was related to the stagnation of the handling of the case.

As previously reported, Harun is a suspect in giving bribes to former KPU commissioner Wahyu Setiawan. This gift was given so that he could sit as a member of the DPR through interim shifts (PAW).

Harun has been on the wanted list (DPO) since January 29, 2020. Most recently, the KPK informed that the National Central Bureau (NCB) of Interpol Indonesia had issued a red notice on behalf of Harun Masiku on Friday, July 30, 2023.