South Jakarta District Court Conducts Pretrial Hearing on Former Religion Minister Yaqut's Corruption Case

Jakarta — The South Jakarta District Court (PN Jakarta Selatan) held a pretrial hearing regarding the alleged corruption case involving additional hajj quota for the implementation of the 2023–2024 hajj pilgrimage with former Religion Minister Yaqut Cholil Qoumas as the named suspect.

“Today we are concluding the proceedings; please submit the case files as there are no responses to the conclusions,” stated Judge Sulistyo Muhammad Dwi Putro during the pretrial hearing at the South Jakarta District Court on Wednesday.

The judge requested that both the respondent and the petitioner submit their case files without providing further statements. The pretrial verdict hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, 11 March.

“The ruling will be announced on 11 March at 10:00 Western Indonesian Time. The hearing is closed,” he added.

Previously, the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) reported that state losses in the alleged corruption case involving additional hajj quota for the 2023–2024 pilgrimage with former Religion Minister Yaqut Cholil Qoumas reached Rp622 billion.

In its response, the KPK stated that the designation of Yaqut as a suspect in the hajj quota case was conducted in accordance with legal procedure, as it met the minimum requirement of two valid pieces of evidence. More than 40 individuals have already provided statements according to the Notice of Request for Information filed under Yaqut Cholil Qoumas’s name.

The KPK’s legal team further explained that Yaqut’s designation as a suspect underwent a comprehensive process of data collection, information gathering, statements, and leads, thereby satisfying the requirement of sufficient evidence through two pieces of evidence.