Hotman Paris Hutapea, lawyer for former Attorney General for Special\nCrimes Febrie Adriansyah, has drawn condemnation from various quarters\nover his remarks at a press conference. Hotman apologised after being\ncriticised by activists, journalists and political parties.<\/p>\n
As compiled by detikcom on Monday (20\/7\/2026), Hotman made the\nstatements that drew criticism at a press conference at the Attorney\nGeneral\u2019s Office building in South Jakarta on Friday (17\/7). An\nemotional Hotman said \u2018do you have a brain\u2019, \u2018ask your grandfather\u2019,\n\u2018shut up\u2019 and \u2018if you had a brain you\u2019d know the answer\u2019. He also\ninvoked the name of President Prabowo Subianto whilst defending\nFebrie.<\/p>\n
His remarks drew widespread condemnation. Minister of State Secretary\nPrasetyo Hadi asked Hotman Paris not to drag President Prabowo\nSubianto\u2019s name into the matter, saying the Febrie case is a legal\nissue.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe return this to the legal process. Do not link it to the\nPresident,\u201d said Prasetyo after a meeting with the leadership of the\nHouse of Representatives at the DPR building in Senayan.<\/p>\n
Prasetyo said legal cases must be handled according to legal\nmechanisms, and that questioning an official does not require the\nPresident\u2019s permission.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe fully return this to the applicable legal mechanism. I believe it\nshould go back to the proper procedure. I don\u2019t think there\u2019s any\nrequirement that an examination may only proceed with the President\u2019s\npermission,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Gerindra deputy chairman Bambang Haryadi also affirmed that Prabowo\nhas never interfered in the law. Bambang said Prabowo upholds the\nfairest possible enforcement of the law.<\/p>\n
\u201cGerindra regrets the statement by Hotman Paris linking the case of\nthe former Attorney General for Special Crimes to President Prabowo.\nThis is completely untrue and contradicts President Prabowo\u2019s commitment\nto eradicating corruption,\u201d said Bambang.<\/p>\n
The initiator of the Gerakan Nurani Kebangsaan (GNK), Habib Syakur\nAli Mahdi Al Hamid, also criticised Hotman for linking the legal process\nagainst Febrie to Prabowo. He said there was no correlation between\nnaming a suspect and the President\u2019s honour or permission.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo not drag President Prabowo\u2019s name in to defend a client. There is\nno correlation between the legal process Febrie Adriansyah is undergoing\nand the President\u2019s honour. The President\u2019s honour would actually be\nbetter preserved if those around him were free of alleged corruption,\u201d\nHabib Syakur said in his statement.<\/p>\n
The Editors-in-Chief Forum also deplored the attitude and manner in\nwhich lawyer Hotman Paris responded to journalists\u2019 questions at the\nAttorney General\u2019s Office. His remarks were deemed demeaning to the\njournalistic profession.<\/p>\n
\u201cHotman Paris Hutapea\u2019s choice of words and manner in responding to\njournalists\u2019 questions were highly unprofessional and demeaning to\njournalists carrying out their mandate under Press Law No.\u00a040 of 1999,\u201d\nsaid Retno Pinasti, chair of the Editors-in-Chief Forum.<\/p>\n
The central board of the Indonesian Journalists Association (PWI)\nlikewise condemned Hotman Paris\u2019s remarks, which were seen as insulting\njournalists. The PWI noted that journalists carrying out their\njournalistic duties are regulated by law.<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone has the right to express an opinion, to answer or decline\nto answer journalists\u2019 questions. But there is no excuse for demeaning\nthe dignity of journalists carrying out their journalistic duties.\nJournalists work in the public interest and are protected by the Press\nLaw,\u201d said PWI central chairman Akhmad Munir.<\/p>\n
Hotman apologised twice. His first apology concerned his remark \u2018do\nyou have a brain\u2019 directed at a journalist.<\/p>\n
\u201cA statement of apology from me, Hotman Paris. In connection with the\nappeal from the Indonesian Journalists Association, PWI, and fellow\njournalists, I hereby express my sincerest apologies for my remarks at\nthe press conference in the case of the former Attorney General for\nSpecial Crimes, when I said \u2018do you have a brain?\u2019\u201d Hotman said in a\nvideo uploaded to his official Instagram account.<\/p>\n
Hotman then explained why he had uttered those words. He said he had\nbeen asked the same question several times, and that the remark came out\nof frustration.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the end I got emotional because I kept going back and forth\nsaying I didn\u2019t know, and finally I answered, \u2018Do you have a brain?\u2019\nWhat I meant was, I had already answered that I didn\u2019t know,\u201d he\nsaid.<\/p>\n
He once again apologised to journalists, saying he had no ill\nintent.<\/p>\n
\u201cSetting aside the actual facts of what happened, when both sides\nwere emotional, I still want to express my apology to that journalist\nand to journalists\u2019 organisations across Indonesia,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Hotman then uploaded another apology video. This time, he apologised\nto President Prabowo Subianto, Attorney General ST Burhanuddin, National\nPolice Chief General Listyo Sigit Prabowo and Greater Jakarta\nMetropolitan Police Chief Commissioner General Asep Edi Suheri for his\nremarks whilst defending Febrie.<\/p>\n
\u201cHello, Mr President of the Republic of Indonesia. Hello, Mr Attorney\nGeneral. Hello, Mr National Police Chief. Hello, Mr Greater Jakarta\nMetropolitan Police Chief. Herewith, Hotman expresses his apologies if\nthere was anything I said or did that caused offence at the press\nconference after the examination of the suspect, the former Attorney\nGeneral for Special Crimes, at the Attorney General\u2019s Office on 17 July\n2026,\u201d Hotman said in the video.<\/p>\n
He said his remarks were an effort to defend Febrie, and that he was\nmerely using his skills as a lawyer.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhatever I said was purely from the perspective of legal advocacy.\nThere was no political motive or involvement of any kind. It was purely\nmy skill as a lawyer, whose duty is to try to protect his client\nlegally,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cOnce again, Mr President of the Republic of Indonesia, Mr Attorney\nGeneral, Mr National Police Chief and Mr Greater Jakarta Metropolitan\nPolice Chief, once again Hotman apologises,\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n
Febrie himself has been named a suspect in alleged corruption and\nmoney laundering linked to the Asabri case. The case was initially\nhandled by National Police Headquarters before being transferred to the\nAttorney General\u2019s Office.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/hotman-paris-apologises-after-outburst-during-febrie-case-press-conference-1784544860", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }