Jakarta Globe, Erwin Sihombing, Jul 21, 2015
Jakarta.
Indonesia’s Justice Ministry has insisted that no sentence reductions were
awarded to corruption convicts for the Idul Fitri holiday last week, following
local media reports of cuts of up to two months for some notorious convicts.
“Not a
single letter [approving a sentence cut] has been issued, in keeping with
Government Regulation 99 of 2012,” M. Akbar Hadiprabowo, a spokesman for the
ministry, told reporters in Jakarta on Tuesday.
Any
sentence cuts, known locally as remissions, reportedly handed out to graft
convicts “are merely recommendations from local offices of the Justice Ministry
and are still being processed,” he added.
The 2012
government regulation was introduced by the administration of then-minister of
justice Amir Syamsuddin to make it more difficult for corruption convicts to
qualify for a sentence cut, as part of the Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono administration’s
wider efforts to get tough on graft.
Under the
regulation, corruption convicts must pay all fines and damages imposed by a
court before they can qualify. They must also cooperate with law enforcement
authorities investigating others implicated in the same case, and must have
approval from the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) on whether they
deserve a sentence cut.
The current
justice minister, Yasonna Laoly from the Indonesian Democratic Party of
Struggle (PDI-P), drew widespread condemnation earlier this year for calling
for the regulation to be rescinded because it was too harsh on graft convicts.
His office,
though, appears to still be abiding by the regulation in not approving sentence
cuts this Idul Fitri. (The ministry traditionally hands out sentence cuts
ranging from 15 days to two months during major public holidays.)
Local media
reported last week that dozens of corruption convicts, including high-profile
prisoners such as former Democratic Party treasurer Muhammad Nazaruddin and
rogue tax official Gayus Tambunan, had received sentence cuts of up to two
months.
Nazaruddin
is serving a seven-year sentence for bid-rigging in a contract for the
construction of an athletes’ village in Palembang, South Sumatra, for the 2011
Southeast Asian Games; Gayus has been hit by a string of convictions for
bribery, passport forgery and other offenses, putting his sentence at 30 years.
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