Karo District Prosecutor's Office Head Secured by Attorney General's Office Over Amsal Sitepu Case
The controversy surrounding the Amsal Sitepu case continues to unfold. Most recently, the Attorney General’s Office (Kejagung) has recalled the Head of the Karo District Prosecutor’s Office, Dante Rajagukguk, and the prosecutors handling the case.
As is known, Amsal Sitepu was demanded a two-year prison sentence by the Karo District Prosecutors in a corruption case involving the production of village profile videos in Karo Regency. The judge then declared Amsal not guilty and imposed an acquittal verdict.
After the acquittal verdict, allegations of ethical violations by the Karo District Prosecutors in the Amsal Sitepu case emerged. The DPR’s Commission III even held a meeting with the Head of the Karo District Prosecutor’s Office and his team on Thursday (2/4) to learn about the handling of the case.
Karo District Prosecutor’s Head Recalled
Kejagung has taken action to investigate the alleged ethical violations in the handling of the Amsal Sitepu case. The Head of Public Relations and Advocacy at Kejagung, Anang Supriatna, confirmed that his office has recalled the Head of the Karo District Prosecutor’s Office, Dante Rajagukguk, and the prosecutors handling Amsal’s case.
“Regarding the Head of the Karo District Prosecutor’s Office, the Deputy Head for Special Crimes, and the Sub-Section Heads or Public Prosecutors who handled the case, they have currently been recalled to the Attorney General’s Office for clarification and will later be examined internally by the Attorney General’s Office,” said Anang Supriatna, Head of Public Relations and Advocacy at Kejagung, to reporters on Sunday (5/4/2026).
Anang stated that they have been secured by Kejagung’s intelligence team. Subsequently, Kejagung’s internal team will clarify the Karo District Prosecutors regarding the handling of the Amsal Sitepu case.
“It is true that they have been secured by the Attorney General’s Office intelligence team. Clearly, they will later undergo clarification on whether the case handling was professional or not; we await the results of the clarification,” he said.
Prepare Sanctions If Violations Occur
The Attorney General’s Office (Kejagung) is preparing sanctions for the Head of the Karo District Prosecutor’s Office, Dante Rajagukguk, and the prosecutors handling the Amsal Sitepu case. Sanctions will be imposed if they are proven to have violated procedures in handling the case.
“If it is proven that they violated and were not professional, there will be ethical actions internally against them,” said Anang Supriatna, Head of Public Relations and Advocacy at Kejagung, to reporters on Sunday (5/4).
Anang stated that they were secured by Kejagung’s intelligence team. Currently, Kejagung’s internal team is still clarifying the Karo District Prosecutors regarding the handling of the Amsal Sitepu case.
“Of course, in this matter, we need time, and we still prioritise the principle of caution while upholding the presumption of innocence,” he added.
Karo District Prosecutor’s Head Explains Openly
The Head of the Karo District Prosecutor’s Office, Dante Rajagukguk, explained the reasons for detaining Amsal Christy Sitepu—who was recently acquitted—in the corruption case involving village profile video production in Karo Regency. Dante said that his office was still referring to the old Criminal Procedure Code (KUHAP).
This was conveyed by Dante during a Working Discussion (RDP) and Working Visit (RDPU) with the DPR’s Commission III at the parliamentary complex in Senayan, Jakarta, on Thursday (2/4/2026). Dante said that the old KUHAP was used because the detention process took place in 2025.
“According to us, the basis for detaining Mr Amsal is Article 21 of the old KUHAP, where Amsal was detained from 19 November 2025 to 8 December 2025,” said Dante.
Dante explained that Amsal’s designation as a suspect was based on allegations of markup practices in the village profile video production project. According to him, one of the methods used was asking village heads to prepare a budget plan (RAB) for equipment rental for 30 days.
“The legal facts obtained in the trial show that the activity was not carried out for up to 30 days, so the expert concluded that the rental that should have been paid was according to the actual implementation time of the activity,” said Dante.
In addition, he said that Amsal created a budget position for video production worth Rp 9 million. However, Amsal was said to have re-entered components of editing, cutting, and dubbing separately.
“Amsal then reintroduced budget positions for editing, cutting, and dubbing, each with a budget of Rp 1,000,000, where according to the expert, editing, cutting, and dubbing are the same as video production design, so cutting, editing, and dubbing were considered as losses,” he explained.
On the same occasion, the Chairman of Commission III of the DPR, Habiburokhman, highlighted the delay by the Head of the Karo District Prosecutor’s Office in following up on Amsal’s detention suspension process. Habiburokhman emphasised that everyone has the right to freedom.
“Then, it was also explained why it took so long to come to Tanjung Gusta, even though we know, Ma’am, that freedom is a principle. If there’s a traffic jam, don’t take 5 hours; even 5 minutes, if someone has the right to be released from detention, we must carry it out. Please explain, Ma’am, what the obstacles were that caused the delay in coming to Tanjung Gusta?” asked Habib.
In response, Dante cited distance as a factor. He said that the prosecutors had to travel from Karo Regency to Medan, which takes about two hours.
“With permission from the leadership, regarding the distance, because the executing prosecutor to the Medan District Court comes from Karo to Medan, approximately 2 hours, leadership,” answered Dante.