Acquitted, Amsal Wants to Reunite with Family After 131 Days Apart

The panel of judges at the Medan District Court in North Sumatra acquitted videographer Amsal Christy Sitepu on Wednesday (1/4). Amsal Sitepu was found not guilty of marking up the production of village profile videos in Karo Regency for the 2020-2022 fiscal years by Rp202 million (Rp202,161,980). In response, Amsal expressed his gratitude. After the hearing, Amsal thanked the panel of judges for their ruling in the case. He also extended his appreciation to various parties who had paid attention to his case. “I thank the panel of judges for this acquittal. I also thank Commission III, President Prabowo [President of the Republic of Indonesia Prabowo Subianto], and the public for their attention,” said Amsal Sitepu to the media after the verdict was read at the Medan District Court. Accompanied by his legal counsel, Amsal admitted that this moment of freedom was profoundly meaningful after more than four months of legal proceedings. He plans to head straight home to reunite with his family. He revealed that he had been separated from his family for at least 131 days before his detention was suspended with Commission III of the DPR as guarantor, and he was acquitted on Wednesday. “For sure, I will go home from here and reunite with my family first. For 131 days, I truly missed the home atmosphere, the warmth of my family, and my wife’s cooking,” he said. He also shared that his feelings after the acquittal were hard to put into words. According to him, gratitude is the primary emotion he feels at the moment. “The feeling can’t be expressed in words, other than thanks to everyone,” he stated. Meanwhile, Amsal’s wife, Novia Sianipar, also expressed her gratitude for the acquittal. She admitted that during her husband’s legal process, she could only rely on prayer. “I’m very grateful for this acquittal. As a wife from Karo, I only have my husband. I relied on the power of prayer,” she said. Novia also expressed her joy that her husband could finally return home after months of legal proceedings. “For sure, I’m happy; my husband is coming home,” she said. She has prepared a simple moment to welcome Amsal’s return at home. “I’ll cook fried eggs,” she said briefly. Regarding the acquittal for Amsal, the public prosecutor (JPU) has not yet determined the next legal steps following the ruling by the Medan District Court panel. The Head of Intelligence at the Karo District Prosecutor’s Office, Dona Martinus, stated that they are still considering whether to file a cassation appeal or accept the decision. Additionally, she said she would report to the prosecutorial leadership first before deciding on further legal actions. “We have followed the entire trial process up to the reading of the decision by the panel of judges. In principle, we respect that decision. Next, we will think about determining the next steps,” Dona said after the hearing at the Medan District Court. In the verdict reading hearing, the panel of judges ordered the defendant to be freed from the prosecutor’s charges, restoring his rights in terms of ability, position, dignity, and honour. According to the panel, there was no material in the defendant’s actions classified as unlawful conduct. “Ruling: declaring the defendant Amsal not proven guilty legally and convincingly of the actions as per the primary and subsidiary charges of the public prosecutor,” stated the panel of judges chaired by Mohammad Yusafrihardi Girsang at the hearing in the Medan District Court today. In a previous hearing, JPU Wira Arizona read out the demand, seeking two years’ imprisonment for the defendant Amsal, a fine of Rp50 million subsidiary to three months’ imprisonment. In addition, Amsal was burdened with repaying state losses of Rp202,161,980. If not paid, it would be replaced with one year’s imprisonment. In a previous hearing, the prosecutor charged Amsal with marking up the project to produce profile videos for 20 villages in Karo Regency, with costs per village reaching Rp30 million. The funding for the video production came from each village’s village funds. Meanwhile, during the hearing, Amsal denied the charges and emphasised that he was merely a creative worker. The case gained national attention because during the hearing, the JPU stated that several work items in Amsal’s proposal should have a value of zero rupiah or no economic value. Commission III of the DPR then held a Public Hearing (RDPU) earlier this week, involving several parties, including Amsal. There were five conclusion points from the RDPU in Commission III of the DPR, some of which included offering themselves as guarantors for the suspension of Amsal’s detention. Then, requesting law enforcers not to take counterproductive actions against the creative industry climate in Indonesia due to criminal threats or over-criminalisation, and reminding law enforcers to prioritise substantive justice over mere formalistic legal certainty as regulated in Article 53 paragraph 2 of the New Criminal Code. “Substantively, the creative work of a videographer does not have a fixed standard price, so it cannot be said that there was inflation or markup from a standard price. This includes generating initial creative ideas or concepts, editing work, video cutting, and voice filling or dubbing, which are creative works that cannot be unilaterally valued at zero rupiah,” as excerpted from the conclusion points of Commission III of the DPR at that time.