Judge Rejects Pre-trial Motion of Yaqut Qoumas in Hajj Quota Case
A single judge at South Jakarta District Court, Sulistyo Muhammad Dwi Putro, has rejected a pre-trial motion concerning case number 19/Pid.Pra/2026 filed on behalf of Yaqut Cholil Qoumas, former Religion Minister during the presidency of Indonesia’s seventh president, Joko Widodo.
In his consideration, the judge stated that the establishment of Yaqut as a suspect already satisfied the minimum requirement of two valid pieces of evidence.
“Considering that the respondent [KPK] established the applicant [Yaqut] as a suspect after gathering evidence of the commission of a criminal offence based on two pieces of evidence, namely evidence T-4 through T-117 and supported by evidence T-135 and evidence T-136. Therefore, the establishment of the applicant as a suspect has satisfied the legal requirements,” said the judge in the courtroom of Oemar Seno Adji at South Jakarta District Court on Wednesday (11 March).
The judge stated that the establishment of Yaqut as a suspect complied with the provisions of Article 1, number 31 of Law Number 20 Year 2025 concerning the Criminal Procedure Code (KUHAP), Constitutional Court Decision Number 21 Year 2014 dated 28 April 2015, and Supreme Court Regulation (Perma) Number 4 Year 2016.
The judge emphasised that pre-trial review only assesses the formal aspects of case handling.
“Considering that the Constitutional Court Decision Number 21 Year 2014 emphasises that the establishment of a suspect must be based on a minimum of two valid pieces of evidence. Pre-trial review only assesses formal aspects—namely, whether there are at least two valid pieces of evidence—and does not enter into substantive matters of the case,” said the judge.
The judge disregarded several pieces of evidence presented by Yaqut on the grounds that they were not relevant as a basis for legal decision-making. One of these concerned a collection of media news articles relating to the alleged corruption case involving additional hajj quotas. According to the judge, these reports were merely informational in nature.
“Considering that evidence P-6a through P-7i, P-22a, and P-22b—being a collection of media news articles—are not relevant to the present case as they are merely informational reports, such evidence has a legal basis to be disregarded,” said the judge.
“Considering that evidence P-18, P-19, P-20, P-21—being decisions from other district courts concerning pre-trial decisions—are such decisions that have not yet established jurisprudence and have not become a legal principle recognised by the Supreme Court of the Republic of Indonesia, they are disregarded,” the judge added.
The KPK, through Deputy for Enforcement and Execution Asep Guntur Rahayu, expressed appreciation and respect for the South Jakarta District Court Judge Sulistyo Muhammad Dwi Putro’s decision rejecting Yaqut’s pre-trial motion.
“I wish to convey appreciation and respect for the decision of the court. Certainly, we respect the decision made by the bench,” said Asep at South Jakarta District Court on Wednesday (11 March).
Asep expressed gratitude that the KPK could continue handling the alleged corruption case involving additional hajj quotas. This week, he stated, the KPK has scheduled questioning of Yaqut.
“Because indeed at the moment his status is that of a suspect. He has been summoned. This week,” he said.
Yaqut, together with his special aide named Ishfah Abidal Aziz, commonly known as Gus Alex, has been established by the KPK as a suspect in the alleged corruption case involving additional hajj quotas. However, neither has been detained.
Nevertheless, the KPK has already requested the Directorate General of Immigration to again prevent Yaqut and Ishfah from leaving the country for a period of six months until 12 August 2026.
During the ongoing investigation, the KPK has conducted searches at various locations, including Yaqut’s residence in Condet, East Jakarta; hajj and pilgrimage travel agency offices in Jakarta; the residence of civil servants at the Religion Ministry in Depok; and the office of the Directorate General of Hajj and Pilgrimage Administration (PHU) at the Religion Ministry.
Many items of evidence allegedly related to the case have been seized, including documents, electronic evidence, motor vehicles, and property.
Based on calculations by the State Audit Board (BPK), the state is reported to have suffered losses amounting to 622,090,207,166.41 rupiah (622 billion rupiah) from the alleged corruption case involving additional hajj quotas for the administration of hajj in 2023 and 2024.
This figure was released some time after Yaqut and Ishfah were established and announced by the KPK as suspects.