House Commission III Member: Naming Febrie a Suspect Does Not Require Presidential Approval

House of Representatives Commission III member Rudianto Lallo has criticised the lawyer of former Junior Attorney General for Special Crimes (Jampidsus) Febrie Adriansyah, Hotman Paris Hutapea, for stating that naming his client a suspect required permission from the President. Rudianto said Hotman’s remarks had no legal footing.

“The statement made by Hotman Paris circulating in the public sphere, which claims that the naming of a suspect and the search of former Junior Attorney General for Special Crimes Febrie Adriansyah must obtain permission from the President, needs to be straightened out from a constitutional perspective,” Rudianto said in a written statement on Sunday (19/7/2026).

He reminded Hotman of the Constitutional Court ruling number 15/PUU-XXIII/2025 concerning the Prosecution Law. He also reminded Hotman about the law enforcement policy within President Prabowo’s Asta Cita vision. Rudianto said Hotman’s view actually contradicted the spirit of eradicating corruption that President Prabowo Subianto wishes to pursue.

“This view has no legal or constitutional footing and has negative pretensions towards the spirit of President Prabowo’s anti-corruption landscape,” he said.

He then discussed Article 1 Paragraph (3) of the 1945 Constitution, which he said affirms that Indonesia is a state based on law. He stated that all law enforcement actions must be based on the constitution and legislation.

“This principle is reinforced through Article 27 Paragraph (1) of the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia, which guarantees equal standing for every citizen before the law, as well as the provisions of Article 28D Paragraph (1) of the 1945 Constitution, which guarantees fair legal certainty and equal treatment before the law,” he said.

Furthermore, he also discussed the ruling on the Prosecution Law. He stated that the Constitutional Court had annulled the absolute procedural immunity of prosecutors.

“On the contrary, the Court stated that the provision regarding the Attorney General’s permission must be interpreted in a limited manner by providing exceptions, including in cases of being caught red-handed, actions threatening state security, or if there is sufficient preliminary evidence of certain specific criminal acts, so that procedural protection must not become an obstacle to law enforcement,” he said.

The NasDem Party politician said Prabowo had also placed the eradication of corruption as one of the points in the Asta Cita vision. He said Prabowo wanted to cleanse corrupt practices from state institutions.

“This spirit can only be realised if law enforcement officers work professionally, independently, objectively, and become a clean sweep of law enforcement. The Clean Sweep of Law Enforcement in giving birth to the spirit of a clean government and tackling state financial leakages, as per the President’s vision. Thus, the handling of alleged corruption cases involving high-ranking law enforcement officials is precisely part of President Prabowo Subianto’s commitment to realising a clean, transparent, and accountable government,” he said.

Previously, Hotman claimed the case ensnaring Febrie was a criminalisation. He even admitted he did not expect any money from Febrie, who is his client.

“I do not expect money from this Jampidsus because I know it is impossible for him to pay me; it’s expensive. My fees are super expensive in Indonesia,” Hotman said while giving a statement to the media at the Attorney General’s Office Round Building in South Jakarta on Friday (17/7) evening.

Hotman then revealed his reasons for stepping in to defend Febrie. He invoked the name of President Prabowo Subianto, whom he acknowledged as his loyal client for decades.

“Remember, I was Prabowo’s lawyer for 25 years. All of his major cases, including those of his brother Mr Hashim, I handled. Even when he was Defence Minister, I was often asked for legal assistance without being paid,” Hotman revealed.

Because of this, he admitted he felt concerned seeing Febrie’s current situation. For him, Febrie is an accomplished figure who is a source of pride for President Prabowo because he succeeded in saving state assets in fantastic amounts.

“This Jampidsus is someone President Prabowo is proud of. He secured the return of state losses of Rp 130 trillion, plus the PKH Task Force’s Rp 300 trillion. A total of Rp 430 trillion returned to the state. Imagine, someone who is the pride of the President is suddenly criminalised without informing the President,” he said.