Prosecutor's demand to free legislator Nurdin protested<\/p>\n
UJUNGPANDANG, South Sulawesi (JP): Hundreds of university
\nstudents and lecturers on Tuesday protested the provincial
\nprosecutor's office over its demand for the acquittal of
\nlegislator Nurdin Halid on charges of embezzling funds from a
\ncooperative.<\/p>\n
In another unexpected twist in the case, Nurdin blasted the
\ngovernment for negligence toward the country's cooperatives,
\nincluding its failure to root out corrupt managers.<\/p>\n
Prosecutor Mustafa Chani fainted last week after demanding the
\nUjungpandang District Court release Nurdin. He contended there
\nwas insufficient evidence in the case.<\/p>\n
"Did the prosecutors prioritize the interests of the attorney
\ngeneral or the public?" said Achmad Ali, one of the protest
\nleaders.<\/p>\n
Nurdin is accused of embezzling Rp 115.77 billion (about US$12
\nmillion) from farmers' compulsory accounts at a local cooperative
\ncenter which acted as the sole buyer from village cooperatives in
\nthe province. Nurdin was once known as a close associate of
\nformer president Soeharto's son Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra.<\/p>\n
Nurdin is a member of the ruling Golkar faction in the House
\nof Representatives. Attorney General Andi M. Ghalib acknowledged
\nhe knew Nurdin when he served as the province's deputy governor
\nin the early 1990s, but indicated he would not interfere in the
\ntrial.<\/p>\n
Trial sessions attracted considerable attention and provoked
\nclashes between his supporters and opponents.<\/p>\n
"The attorney general regretted the prosecutor's demand,"
\nchief prosecutor Fachri Nasution said on Monday. Nasution said he
\ndid not instruct Mustafa to demand Nurdin's release.<\/p>\n
On Tuesday students from state Hasanuddin University and
\nseveral private universities demanded Nasution form an
\nindependent team to probe the scandal. Nurdin's supporters jeered
\nmarching students although there were no clashes.<\/p>\n
Antara quoted Nurdin as saying on Tuesday the country's
\ncooperatives could not develop optimally due to rampant
\ncorruption by their managers.<\/p>\n
"Such practices must be stopped," he said. (27\/prb)<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/prosecutors-demand-to-free-legislator-nurdin-protested-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }