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.