Disappointed with Judge's Ruling, Former Nadiem Consultant Ibam Appeals in Chromebook Case

Former Technology Consultant for the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology, Ibrahim Arief or Ibam, has decided to appeal the verdict of four years’ imprisonment and a fine of Rp500 million in the corruption case concerning the procurement of Chromebooks.

Ibam’s legal representative, Afrian Bonjol, respects the decision handed down by the judges of the Central Jakarta District Court. However, Afrian stated that he must strive for justice for his client by filing an appeal.

“We greatly respect the legal process and we are firm regarding the district court decision yesterday. We will state an appeal,” Afrian told reporters on Wednesday (13/5/2026).

Afrian stated that his client objects to the verdict. Nevertheless, Afrian mentioned that his client will still follow the applicable legal procedures in the form of an appeal.

“We are very regretful, we are deeply disappointed, and we are very concerned about that decision. However, we fully respect the legal process that has taken place so far. Therefore, we firmly state that the legal team will file an appeal within the seven-day period as stipulated in the applicable Indonesian criminal procedure law,” Afrian said.

Afrian believes that this appeal effort can realise the justice desired by his client. “We are pursuing this to fight for true justice for our client,” Afrian said.

Afrian also praised the two judges who submitted dissenting opinions on the decision, namely Andi Saputra and Eri Yusman. These two member judges stated that Ibam was not guilty as charged.

“Alhamdulillah, there is a dissenting opinion. We will maximise that as well. It means this adds ammunition for us (for the appeal). It adds to our conviction, adds to our spirit to defend Ibam. And in this case, there was not a single malicious intent from Ibam,” Afrian said.