Prosecutor Apologises to Parliament for Death Penalty Recommendation Against Sea Dragon Crew Member

The Public Prosecutor (JPU) Muhammad Arfian has publicly expressed an apology to Commission III of the Indonesian House of Representatives regarding the death penalty recommendation he pursued against Fandi Ramadhan, an ordinary crew member (ABK) of the Sea Dragon vessel. The apology followed widespread criticism over the legal reasoning in the case heard at Batam District Court.

Accompanied by the Head of the Batam State Prosecutor’s Office, Arfian acknowledged errors in the case handling process involving Fandi.

“We, the Public Prosecutor Muhammad Arfian, wish to express our sincere and deepest apologies for the mistakes we made in the trial,” said Arfian at the Parliament Complex in Jakarta on Wednesday (11 March).

Arfian revealed that he has received disciplinary sanctions from the Deputy Attorney General for Supervision (Jamwas) as a consequence of his actions. He pledged to treat the incident as a matter for serious evaluation in his future career.

“We are grateful to the leadership of Commission III for their correction and attention to us. This will serve as material for our correction,” he added.

Chair of Commission III, Habiburokhman, highlighted disparities in the application of justice against suspects in the case. He argued that the death penalty recommendation should only be pursued very selectively and should target those most responsible or major kingpins, not workers at the lower level such as crew members.

“The recommendation against Fandi, at this level, is the death penalty, and the public is questioning how the law is being implemented in this case. The degree of culpability is vastly different, so how can the recommendations be the same?” Habiburokhman criticised.

Nevertheless, Habiburokhman accepted Arfian’s apology and expressed hope that the young prosecutor could learn to be more judicious in making legal decisions in the future.

“We hope that this young man can learn and become more prudent in future, and can advance his career,” said the Gerindra politician.

Previously, the controversy had intensified following accusations that a prosecutor had claimed that the House of Representatives was interfering in the case. This prompted Commission III to request that Jamwas conduct a thorough examination of the prosecutors at the Batam State Prosecutor’s Office.