House Member: No Rule Requires Presidential Approval to Name Febrie a Suspect

A member of House Commission III, Soedeson Tandra, has refuted a statement by the lawyer of former Junior Attorney General for Special Crimes (Jampidsus) Febrie Adriansyah, Hotman Paris Hutapea. He stressed that there is no regulation requiring law enforcement officers to seek the President’s permission before naming Febrie a suspect. “Hotman Paris’s statement is baseless. There is not a single rule that says arresting a prosecutor requires the President’s permission,” Soedeson said in a written statement on Sunday (19/7/2026). Soedeson noted that the provision on prosecutorial immunity in the Prosecution Law had been struck down by the Constitutional Court. He emphasised that every citizen has equal standing before the law. “It does not matter whether a person is high-ranking, lowly, or an official. Whoever violates the law, enforce the law, carry this out in accordance with the applicable legal rules,” said the Golkar Party legislator. Soedeson urged the Team 9 established by the Attorney General’s Office to handle the Febrie Adriansyah case firmly. He said Team 9, which is largely staffed by former Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) prosecutors, must pay attention to the public’s inner sentiments. “Team 9 must heed the inner sentiments of the Indonesian people, the sense of justice of Indonesian society, and safeguard the good name of the institution,” he said. He stated that President Prabowo Subianto has a strong commitment to eradicating corruption, which is part of the Asta Cita vision. He expressed hope that no one would invoke the President’s name in this case. “The President has affirmed, enforce the law as firmly as possible. Whoever violates 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 said. Previously, Hotman claimed that the case ensnaring Febrie was a criminalisation. He even admitted that 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 told the media at the Round Building of the Attorney General’s Office in South Jakarta on Friday (17/7) evening. Hotman then revealed his reason for stepping in to defend Febrie. He invoked the name of President Prabowo Subianto, whom he claimed as his loyal client for decades. “Remember, I was Prabowo’s lawyer for 25 years. I handled all his major cases, including his brother Mr Hashim’s. Even when he was Defence Minister, I was often asked for legal assistance without pay,” Hotman revealed. Therefore, he admitted feeling concerned seeing Febrie’s current condition. To him, Febrie is an accomplished figure who is a source of pride for President Prabowo for successfully recovering a fantastic amount of state assets. “The Jampidsus is someone President Prabowo is proud of. He secured the return of Rp 130 trillion in state losses, plus the PKH Task Force’s Rp 300 trillion. A total of Rp 430 trillion returned to the state. Imagine, a person who is the President’s pride suddenly being criminalised without so much as a word to the President,” he remarked.