Lawyer Criticises Pretrial Ruling in Yaqut's Hajj Quota Case
The legal team of former Religion Minister Yaqut Cholil Qoumas, represented by Melisa Anggraini, has criticised the pretrial judge’s assessment in the suspected 2024 hajj quota corruption case. According to the defence, the judge only considered the quantity of evidence without evaluating its quality or relevance to the case.
“Apparently, the pretrial judge only looked at the number of pieces of evidence that already exist, numbering two. Regarding whether they are of good quality and whether they are relevant, that was not considered at all,” Melisa said after the hearing on Wednesday, 11 March.
The defence team also criticised the judge’s ruling for failing to address arguments concerning the Corruption Eradication Commission’s (KPK) authority to establish suspect status in accordance with recent legal regulations. Melisa warned that this could create legal uncertainty following the enactment of new criminal procedural laws.
“We believe this sets a bad precedent regarding the application of the new Criminal Code of Criminal Procedure and Criminal Code. There is legal uncertainty here,” she stated.
The legal team further raised concerns about the notification process for the suspect status determination. Melisa noted that the defence only first saw the physical copy of the suspect status letter during the pretrial hearing, which she argued violated fairness and legal certainty principles.
“Until now, we only saw the suspect status letter for the first time in the courtroom—there was no fairness or legal certainty,” Melisa said.
According to criminal procedural law, law enforcement authorities are required to deliver the suspect status notification document to the relevant party immediately. The document must be handed over within one day of the determination.
A pretrial judge, Sulistyo Muhammad Dwiputro, had previously rejected all pretrial motions filed by Yaqut Cholil Qoumas at the South Jakarta District Court. The ruling upheld the KPK’s determination of suspect status and allowed the investigation into the alleged corruption case concerning the allocation of additional 2024 hajj quota to proceed.
Yaqut filed the pretrial suit on 10 February 2026 after the KPK designated him as a suspect alongside Ishfah Abidal Aziz, a former special staff member at the Religion Ministry also known as Gus Alex. The KPK alleges both were involved in the suspected corruption related to the allocation of additional 2024 hajj quota.