Legal Team Cites Procedural Defects in Yaqut's Suspect Designation in Pre-trial Hearing Conclusion
The legal team of former Minister of Religious Affairs Yaqut Cholil Qoumas has argued that the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) designation of their client as a suspect fails to comply with procedure and violates provisions of the new Criminal Procedure Code (KUHAP). This position was presented in the conclusion of pre-trial proceedings at South Jakarta District Court on Monday, 9 March.
The defence team criticised the use of a KPK Leadership Decision in the suspect designation. According to their submission, under Article 90(1) of the new KUHAP, this authority should rest with investigators, not with the leadership of an institution.
This argument was reinforced by reference to testimony from an expert in state administrative law presented by the KPK (respondent). “During the hearing, the state administrative law expert presented by the respondent, Professor Immanuel Sudjatmoko, S.H., M.S., actually confirmed that governmental authority cannot be created unilaterally by officials but must be obtained through lawful means: attribution, delegation, or mandate,” said Yaqut’s legal team, citing the conclusion filed with the pre-trial judge at South Jakarta District Court on Monday, 9 March.
“The expert presented by the respondent even added that amendment of legislation can be a legitimate cause for loss of governmental authority by officials, particularly when the amendment explicitly removes the old instrument of authority,” added Yaqut’s counsel.
Another issue raised concerned implementation of Article 90(2) of the new KUHAP. Yaqut’s team stated that their client received only a notification letter, not the principal document consisting of a Suspect Designation Letter.
In their closing brief, the defence counsel referred to testimony from a criminal law expert from the respondent, Professor Dr. Erdianto Effendi. “This fact was actually confirmed by the criminal law expert presented by the respondent, Professor Dr. Erdianto Effendi, S.H., M.Hum., who testified that the suspect designation referred to in Article 90(2) of the new KUHAP is contained in a Suspect Designation Letter signed by the investigator and communicated to the suspect no later than one day after the Suspect Designation Letter is issued,” explained the defence team.
Similar observations were made by state administrative law expert Oce Madril, who provided testimony for Yaqut’s side. “The expert also emphasised that if a notification letter regarding suspect designation is delivered without attaching the suspect designation letter itself, such action violates Article 90 of the new KUHAP, because the principal document that must be delivered to the addressee is the Suspect Designation Letter,” the lawyer said.
For context, the KPK designated Yaqut as a suspect on 8 January 2026. Although notification of the designation was received on 9 January 2026, Yaqut’s team asserts that the official suspect designation letter had not been received until the end of February 2026.
The South Jakarta District Court is scheduled to deliver its pre-trial judgment decision on Wednesday, 11 March.