House Commission III Urges Investigation into Prosecutors in Amsal Sitepu Case for Spreading Propaganda
JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - House Commission III of the Indonesian Parliament has urged law enforcement agencies to continue investigating allegations of intimidation and propaganda carried out by prosecutors from the Karo District Prosecutor’s Office in handling the case of videographer Amsal Christy Sitepu.
Chairman of House Commission III, Habiburokhman, explained that the alleged propaganda relates to steering public opinion to suggest that House Commission III was intervening in the handling of the corruption case that previously implicated Amsal.
“House Commission III requests the Deputy Attorney General for Supervision to investigate allegations of violations by members of the Karo District Prosecutor’s Office, namely the failure to carry out Medan District Court Ruling Number 171/Pid.Sus-TPK/2025/PN Mdn and building propaganda as if House Commission III was intervening in the legal process of Mr. Amsal Christy Sitepu,” said Habiburokhman while reading the conclusions of the public hearing (RDPU) on the case at the Parliament Building, Thursday (2/4/2026).
The intimidation is alleged to have been carried out by prosecutors by sending cakes accompanied by messages asking Amsal not to criticise the handling of his case.
“House Commission III requests that law enforcement agencies conduct a thorough investigation into the intimidation experienced by Mr. Amsal Christy Sitepu, which is alleged to have been carried out by Public Prosecutor (JPU) Wira Arizona, Head of Special Crimes Section (Kasi Pidsus) Reinhard Harve Sembiring, and Head of Intelligence Section (Kasi Intel) Dona Martinus Sebayang,” he concluded.
Presiding Judge Mohammad Yusafrihardi Girsang stated that Amsal was not proven guilty, either under the primary or subsidiary charges.
“Acquitting the defendant from all charges by the public prosecutor. Restoring the defendant’s rights to the fullest in terms of position, dignity, and honour,” said Mohammad Yusafrihardi Girsang.
In the project, Amsal offered video production costs of Rp 30 million per village to around 20 villages.
However, based on expert analysis and audit by the Inspectorate, the reasonable cost was estimated at around Rp 24.1 million per video. The difference in value then became the basis for allegations of budget inflation.
The Public Prosecutor previously demanded a two-year prison sentence for Amsal, a fine of Rp 50 million, and an obligation to return state losses of Rp 202 million. The state loss data refers to the results of the Karo Regency Regional Inspectorate audit amounting to Rp 202,161,980.
The prosecutors also assessed discrepancies between the implementation of the work and the Bill of Quantities (RAB).
“The legal facts obtained indicate that Amsal has a close connection due to the pattern of offers to the RAB using the same method as other suspects in the same case,” said Prosecutor DM Sebayang.