Expert: Search in Febrie Adriansyah case can be justified

… as long as it is based on lawful authority and procedure.

Criminal law expert Ufran Trisa of the University of Mataram has assessed that the search action taken by the police in handling the case involving former Deputy Attorney General for Special Crimes (Jampidsus) Febrie Adriansyah can be justified.

According to Ufran, secrecy in a search is precisely what is needed in cases involving high-ranking officials or those with extensive networks, in order to prevent the loss of evidence or disruption to the investigation, as long as it is carried out on the basis of lawful authority and in accordance with criminal procedure law.

“A search conducted suddenly can be justified as long as it is carried out based on lawful authority and procedure,” said Ufran in a written statement received in Jakarta on Saturday.

He assessed that if a search plan were known in advance, there would be a risk of electronic evidence being deleted, documents being destroyed, witnesses being influenced, or statements between parties being coordinated, which could hamper the process of proof.

In addition, he also explained that Constitutional Court Decision Number 21/PUU-XII/2014 governs the importance of giving a suspect candidate the opportunity to provide a statement.

“It is not appropriate to conclude that investigators are obliged to examine a person first before naming them as a suspect in every case. The assessment must be tailored to the characteristics of the case being handled,” he said.

The purpose of examining a suspect candidate, he continued, is not to provide an opportunity to dispose of evidence, but rather to give the person concerned room to explain the evidence already gathered by investigators, so that the process of naming a suspect is not carried out arbitrarily (an abuse of power).

Furthermore, Ufran said that proving a money laundering case (TPPU) is not sufficient merely by finding assets of significant value; it must also be able to demonstrate a connection between those assets and the underlying predicate crime, as well as the existence of efforts to hide or obscure the origin of the wealth.