Former Supreme Court Secretary Nurhadi Challenges Prosecutors on Charges with Mubahalah Oath

Former Supreme Court (MA) Secretary Nurhadi claims he is ready to face punishment in the alleged graft and money laundering (TPPU) case. Nurhadi asserts his innocence. “Throughout this trial, the prosecutors have been unable to prove their charges. On the contrary, I have conducted reverse proof regarding the assets I own and their sources,” Nurhadi stated after the reading of the duplicates at the Central Jakarta Corruption Court on Friday (27/3/2026). Nurhadi is confident that the panel of judges, led by Fajar Kusuma Aji, can discern the truth based on the trial facts. Nurhadi has sworn a mubahalah if he is lying in the case ensnaring him. “In accordance with my faith and religious teachings, as stated in the Quran, Surah Ali Imran verse 61, if it is true that I have committed the acts as accused or charged against me in this case, then I am ready to bear all the consequences,” Nurhadi said. “May my life in this world and the hereafter be cursed, and may Allah’s punishment and curse be hastened upon me if I lie or give false testimony in the charged matter,” he continued. He also challenged the prosecutors to perform mubahalah. He prayed that those who mistakenly or wrongly presented the charges would be punished. “Conversely, if I did not commit the acts as charged against me, if there are parties who intentionally or mistakenly presented charges against me, thus forcing me to face this legal process, then I beseech Allah SWT to curse their life in this world and the hereafter and hasten punishment upon them for the lies committed,” Nurhadi stated. Nurhadi’s lawyer, Muhammad Rudjito, assessed that the prosecutors could not prove their charges throughout the trial. “The judges can clearly see that the prosecutors’ charges are highly assumptive and sometimes seem hallucinatory because they cannot prove the charges, and their demands are not based on evidentiary law,” Rudjito said. Rudjito exemplified the assumptive and hallucinatory nature during the examination of witnesses whom the prosecutors claimed as gratuity givers. “All witnesses presented by the prosecutors stated they never gave gratuities to Nurhadi. However, if they had given and admitted it in court, the witnesses would face no legal consequences at all. They would be exempt under the Corruption Law Article 12B, with no burden,” Rudjito explained. On the other hand, he continued, the prosecutors stated in their charges that the recipient of the gratuity was Nurhadi ‘in relation to the case’, yet the judges, clerks, and others connected to the case were not examined at all. “We requested they be presented, but it was never fulfilled,” Rudjito said. Rudjito concluded that the accusations and charges against Nurhadi amount to criminalisation without evidence. “Nurhadi is alone in this case. Singular. There is no giver, no receiver, no accomplices or other involved or related parties, as is typical in corruption crimes involving gratuities or TPPU,” Rudjito clarified. This is what prompted Nurhadi to challenge the prosecutors to perform mubahalah. “But only Nurhadi performed it before the panel of judges in the trial. We assess that the prosecutors are not daring,” Rudjito said. Rudjito views Nurhadi’s courage in performing mubahalah as based on his conviction that he has been criminalised. According to him, Nurhadi is charged with acts he did not commit at all. “That is the last resort after all arguments have been presented,” Rudjito said. Another member of the advocacy team, Mohammad Ikhsan, continued that Nurhadi has conducted reverse proof by detailing the total income facts from 2011-2018 from salary and allowances amounting to approximately Rp25.8 billion, plus income from his swiftlet nest business since 1981 yielding approximately Rp41.14 billion. The assets accused by the prosecutors, Ikhsan continued, consisting of a villa in Megamendung, three units of apartments in Infinity Tower Jakarta, and one Mercedes Sprinter vehicle, which have been calculated in the trial, total only approximately Rp28 billion. “From formal evidence and trial facts, including the prosecutors’ efforts to include his son-in-law’s assets which have been proven unrelated to Nurhadi, this case seems forced. When finally challenged by Nurhadi to swear under the Quran in the mubahalah format, the prosecutors did not dare,” Ikhsan stated. Nurhadi leaves everything entirely to the decision of the panel of judges, with the reading of the verdict scheduled for Wednesday, 1 April 2026. “We hope the Panel of Judges delivers a fair decision and recognises the criminalisation efforts being carried out against Nurhadi,” Ikhsan hoped.