House Commission III: No Rule Requiring Presidential Permit to Arrest Prosecutor
A member of the House of Representatives’ Commission III, Soedeson Tandra, has asserted that there is no regulation requiring law enforcement to obtain presidential permission to arrest a prosecutor. The statement was made in response to remarks by Hotman Paris Hutapea, the lawyer representing former Deputy Attorney General for Special Crimes, Febrie Adriansyah, who had questioned why the police did not seek the president’s approval when naming Febrie a suspect.
Soedeson explained that a previous provision in the Prosecutors’ Law requiring permission from the Attorney General had already been annulled by the Constitutional Court. He stressed that every citizen holds equal standing before the law, regardless of their position. “It does not matter whether a person holds a high rank, is a low-ranking individual, or a public official. Whoever violates the law, enforce the law and carry it out in accordance with the prevailing legal rules,” he said in a written statement on Sunday.
He urged the special investigative team formed by the Attorney General’s Office to handle Febrie’s case with transparency and professionalism. Soedeson also highlighted President Prabowo Subianto’s strong commitment to eradicating corruption, which forms part of the government’s Asta Cita vision. “The President has made it clear: enforce the law as firmly as possible. Anyone who breaks the law must be dealt with. So please do not drag the President’s name into this. This is a matter of law enforcement,” he stated.
The Attorney General’s Office has recently issued three new investigation warrants related to alleged corruption and money laundering involving Febrie. These warrants were issued to follow up on the transfer of cases from the National Police. The three cases concern alleged corruption and money laundering at PT Krakatau Steel, coal procurement for PLN’s power plants that resulted in a blackout, and the ASABRI case. In addition to Febrie, investigators have also named a private sector individual, Don Ritto, as a suspect for alleged money laundering derived from criminal acts of corruption. Febrie is suspected of involvement in corruption and money laundering during the legal handling of state officials in the PT Asabri case and other alleged corruption cases.