Court rejects plea by graft suspect to annul KPK law

Court rejects plea by graft suspect to annul KPK law

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Constitutional Court rejected on Thursday the argument of a
graft suspect that the authority given to the Corruption
Eradication Commission (KPK) to investigate and prosecute
corruption cases was a constitutional violation.

Constitutional Court president Jimly Asshidiqie said Article
68 of Law No. 30/2002 on the KPK, which allows the commission to
take over corruption cases from the police or prosecutors, did
not violate the Constitution.

However, the court did not issue a decision on whether the KPK
had the power to investigate and prosecute cases that predated
its formation.

Graft suspect Bram H.D. Manoppo had asked the court to review
Article 68 of Law No. 30/2002 in relation to corruption charges
against him.

He argued that the KPK did not have the authority to prosecute
him, in part because the alleged corruption took place in 2001
while the KPK was formed only in 2002. He said the retroactive
application of the law was a constitutional violation.

Bram is a suspect in a corruption case centering on the
purchase of a Russian helicopter by Aceh Governor Abdullah Puteh,
who has been suspended pending the outcome of his ongoing trial
at the Anticorruption Court.

The case has been seen by the public as a gauge of the
government's seriousness in fighting corruption.

The KPK was established because of the authorities' failure to
prosecute corruption cases, particularly high-profile ones.
Despite criticism of the powerful commission, anticorruption
activists say extraordinary measures are needed to fight rampant
corruption.

Bram, a former president director of PT Putra Probiagan, which
acted as a consultant in the helicopter purchase, is the first
graft suspect to challenge the authority of the KPK in the
Constitutional Court.

Jimly said it was up to the Anticorruption Court to decide
whether the KPK had applied the principle of retroactivity in the
prosecution of Bram.

Anticorruption campaigners had urged the Constitutional Court
to reject Bram's argument, saying siding with the graft suspect
would deal a serious blow to efforts to curb corruption.

Bram's lawyer, Mohammad Assegaf, said his client would respect
the Constitutional Court ruling.

However, he claimed the court implicitly said the KPK could
not prosecute corruption cases that occurred before its
establishment in December 2002.

KPK chairman Taufiqurrahman Ruki said the commission respected
the Constitutional Court's ruling and it would continue to work
in accordance with the law.