NTB High Prosecutor's Office prepares verzet against rejection of cassation for three legislators

Mataram (ANTARA) - The Nusa Tenggara Barat High Prosecutor’s Office is preparing a verzet, or legal challenge, against the Mataram District Court’s ruling that struck out the prosecutor’s cassation appeal over the acquittal of three legislators.

NTB High Prosecutor’s Office spokesperson Harun Al Rasyid said in Mataram on Thursday that the legal measure was being pursued to uphold the prosecutor’s conviction in the gratuity case involving the three defendants.

“So, we will continue to pursue legal remedies to prove what we believe. This week we will declare a verzet against the court ruling that rejected our cassation,” Harun said.

The three defendants are Hamdan Kasim, Indra Jaya Usman, and M. Nashib Ikroman, who were previously acquitted of all charges by the Corruption Court at the Mataram District Court.

Harun said the prosecutor’s office has not yet executed the acquittal or the order to return seized funds amounting to Rp2.6 billion that had been handed over by 15 NTB Regional Legislative Council members.

“As the executor, we are of course obliged to carry out the court’s order. But because we still believe in the substance of our charges, we will wait for the verzet first, then execute the ruling. This is our final effort,” he said.

Harun confirmed that the verzet filing does not conflict with the new Criminal Procedure Code or Supreme Court Circular Number 4 of 2026.

“If the issue is that a verzet does not prevent the execution of a final and binding ruling, that is a civil matter. This concerns a verzet against a court ruling, which is a different matter,” he said.

The Mataram District Court on 18 August 2026 issued a ruling that struck out the public prosecutor’s cassation appeal against the acquittal of the three defendants in the gratuity case.

The court also stated that the cassation appeal was not sent to the Supreme Court.

The court’s consideration for striking out the public prosecutor’s cassation appeal referred to the provisions of Article 244 paragraphs (2) and (4) as well as Article 299 paragraph (2) of Law Number 20 of 2025 on the new Criminal Procedure Code, which stipulates that no legal remedy is available to the public prosecutor when the first-instance panel of judges hands down an acquittal.