Amir Syamsudin and Hamdan Zoelva File Amicus Curiae Brief for Defendant in Cooking Oil Corruption Case
Former Indonesian Minister of Law and Human Rights (2011-2014) Amir Syamsudin has filed an amicus curiae brief on behalf of Tian Bahtiar, the director of Jak TV, who stands accused of obstructing investigations into three corruption cases. Amir submitted the brief alongside 27 other individuals, including former Constitutional Court Chief Justice (2013-2015) Hamdan Zoelva.
The amicus curiae was presented before the panel of judges at the Jakarta Corruption Court on Wednesday (18 February 2026). The 28 signatories are members of the Coalition of Press Professionals and Civil Society.
“There are 28 figures who have submitted the amicus curiae to the panel of judges, and we have already received a copy from the parties concerned,” said Tian Bahtiar’s lawyer during the hearing.
“We shall accept this for now, as the court registry submission has not yet reached us,” said presiding judge Efendi.
One of the coalition’s representatives, Roy Pakpahan, raised the issue of press freedom. Roy argued that Tian’s case should be tried with priority given to the Press Law.
“This is about press freedom. In trying Tian in the context of a press freedom case, the Press Law must naturally take precedence,” said coalition representative Roy Pakpahan at the Jakarta Corruption Court.
He assessed that the case involving Tian cannot be treated as a purely criminal matter, as press freedom is guaranteed in the writing, creation, and production of news — all of which constitute journalistic work. He expressed hope that the amicus curiae would serve as a consideration for the panel of judges in deciding Tian’s case through the lens of the Press Law.
“If journalistic work is deemed to be something that can be criminalised, then this would apply to anyone in the press community,” he said.
“Anyone at all — whether electronic media, print media — everyone could be implicated,” he added.
He also drew attention to a Constitutional Court ruling on the judicial review of Law No. 40 of 1999 on the Press, filed by the Legal Journalists Association (Iwakum). He noted that the Court had ruled that criminal and civil sanctions should not serve as the primary instrument for resolving disputes related to journalistic works produced through press or reporting activities.
“The Constitutional Court ruling must be implemented by all parties. There is no appeal — it takes effect immediately and must be executed at once,” he said.
Besides Amir Syamsudin and Hamdan Zoelva, coalition members who submitted the amicus curiae include Members of Parliament Bonnie Triyana and Abidin Fikri; former Chairman of the Witness and Victim Protection Agency (LPSK, 2019-2024) Hasto Atmojo Suroyo; former Deputy Chairman of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK, 2011-2015) Bambang Widjojanto; Chairman of the National Board and founder of SETARA Institute, Hendardi; and founder of the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI), Satrio Arismunandar.
In this case, Tian Bahtiar, together with advocate Juanedi Saibih and social media operative Adhiya Muzzaki, stands accused of obstructing investigations into three corruption cases. Prosecutors allege that the defendants produced programmes and content aimed at shaping negative public opinion regarding the handling of those three cases.
The three cases in question are the tin commodity governance corruption case, the sugar import corruption case at the Ministry of Trade, and the corruption case involving the procurement of crude palm oil (CPO) export permits — the raw material for cooking oil. Prosecutors stated that the defendants carried out a non-juridical scheme outside the courtroom with the aim of creating negative public opinion suggesting that the handling of the cases was improper.