Prosecutor's Excuse for Giving Brownies to Amsal Sitepu Purely Humanitarian, Not Intimidation

Jakarta – Prosecutor Wira Arizona from the Karo District Prosecutor’s Office has denied intimidating videographer Amsal Cristy Sitepu. Sitepu claimed he received intimidation in the form of brownies containing a threatening letter. He explained that giving the brownies to Sitepu was purely from the heart. “With permission, I had no intentions whatsoever. We were purely prioritising humanitarian feelings and conscience,” Wira stated during a meeting with Commission III in the DPR on Thursday, 2 April 2026. “And here, I will also provide some documentation from 2024. This has become our culture in Tanah Karo,” he added. Furthermore, Wira stated that before meeting the defendant, he had coordinated with Sitepu’s legal counsel. “First, I will explain regarding the visit to Tanjung Gusta for the examination of suspect Amsal. We first coordinated with Amsal’s legal counsel,” he clarified. However, at that time, Sitepu’s legal counsel was unable to attend. Wira explained that the brownies were given to Sitepu when the prosecutor was about to examine him while he was in detention. “From there, there was no intention of intimidation. However, at that time, the legal counsel could not attend due to one thing or another. I was not alone; there were two teams, and it can be witnessed that the brownies were not handed directly by me, and there was no conversation whatsoever,” he explained. Previously, the videographer from Karo Regency, Amsal Christy Sitepu, claimed to have received intimidation from the prosecutor during the legal process. Sitepu is accused of marking up the budget for video production in 20 villages in Karo. The prosecutor and auditor assessed that Sitepu inflated the budget for several of his services, such as ideas, editing, and others. Sitepu claimed he was given a box of brownies containing a message not to publicise too much content on social media. “In the legal process I am currently undergoing, I once received intimidation directly from the prosecutor who gave me a box of chocolate brownies, and he said directly to me in this detention centre, ‘just follow the flow. Don’t make a fuss, close those contents’,” Sitepu said during a closed meeting with Commission III of the DPR RI on Monday, 30 March 2026.