Judge Opens Possibility to Order AGO to Present Lodewyk at Pretrial Hearing

A single judge at the Central Jakarta District Court has opened the possibility of ordering the Attorney General’s Office to present former Deputy Head of the National Nutrition Agency, Lodewyk Pusung, at a pretrial hearing. The judge stipulated two guarantees: a security guarantee and a guarantee that he will not abscond.

‘I can issue an order to present him if there is a security guarantee. A security guarantee for when he is currently detained, to be brought out of the detention centre and presented here, that is one. And a guarantee that he will not flee. Like that,’ said single judge M Firman Akbar at the Central Jakarta District Court on Friday (14/8/2026).

The request for Lodewyk to be presented at the pretrial hearing, either in person or virtually, was made by his legal team. Meanwhile, the prosecutor argued that Lodewyk’s presence was sufficiently represented by his legal counsel.

‘In principle, we also adhere to the provisions of Article 163 paragraph (1) that in criminal procedural law, a suspect’s statement also carries the right to remain silent, Your Honour. And they are entitled not to provide a statement, Your Honour. And it is sufficient to be represented by their advocate for the pretrial hearing, Your Honour,’ the prosecutor stated.

The judge stated that the decision on whether or not to present Lodewyk would be delivered at the next session on Tuesday (18/8), after considering whether the two conditions can be met. The agenda for the next pretrial hearing is the evidentiary phase.

‘Because this has been brought to court, before a pretrial forum, and I have been appointed as the judge, naturally I will be the one to decide,’ the judge said.

Previously, Lodewyk Pusung filed another pretrial motion related to the management of the Free Nutritious Meals programme. The Attorney General’s Office welcomed the move.

‘Yes, I have just learned of this. Please go ahead, just file it,’ said Head of the Attorney General’s Office Legal Information Centre, Anang Supriatna, to reporters at the Main Building of the Attorney General’s Office in South Jakarta on Friday (7/8).

Lodewyk filed this pretrial motion at the Central Jakarta District Court. This latest motion concerns the legality of the forced seizure efforts.

‘We are informing that the Central Jakarta District Court has registered case number 18/Pid.Pra/2026/PN Jkt.Pst with the applicant Lodewyk Pusung and the respondent the Attorney General’s Office,’ said Andi Saputra in a statement to reporters on Friday (7/8).

Lodewyk had previously filed a pretrial lawsuit regarding the legality of his suspect status in the free nutritious meal governance case. However, that lawsuit was rejected by the South Jakarta District Court.

In its considerations, single judge Abdul Affandi during the verdict hearing held at the South Jakarta District Court on Thursday (30/7) stated that the case did not occur within the jurisdiction of the South Jakarta District Court. The judge explained that the locus of the coercive actions was the basis for determining relative competence.

‘Considering that the coercive actions being tested in the pretrial application include arrest, detention, search, seizure, and other actions. Considering that the locus of these coercive actions is the basis for determining relative competence,’ the judge said while reading the ruling.

The judge considered that the arrest, detention, search, and seizure were carried out outside the jurisdiction of the South Jakarta District Court.

‘Considering that all these actions are within the jurisdiction of the East Jakarta District Court, the Central Jakarta District Court, or the Corruption Court at the Central Jakarta District Court,’ he stated.

The judge concluded that based on the principle of relative competence in the Criminal Procedure Code, the South Jakarta District Court did not have the authority to adjudicate the pretrial application.

‘Considering that therefore, based on the principle of relative competence in the Criminal Procedure Code, the East Jakarta District Court or the Central Jakarta District Court is the court with relative authority to examine and adjudicate the a quo pretrial application,’ he concluded.