Supreme Prosecutors' Office Files Cassation Against Acquittal of Tian Bahtiar et al.
Jakarta — Indonesia’s Supreme Prosecutors’ Office (Kejagung) has filed a cassation against the acquittal of three defendants charged with obstructing law enforcement in three corruption cases: Tian Bahtiar, Adhiya Muzakki, and Junaedi Saibih.
“Regarding the obstruction case that was acquitted, the public prosecutor reconsidered the matter and will file a cassation today because the case was tried under the old Criminal Procedure Code,” said Anang Supriatna, head of the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office’s Legal Information Centre, in Jakarta on Friday.
He explained that the reason for the cassation was that the judges failed to consider the public prosecutors’ reasoning that the defendants’ actions had an impact on the handling of the cases.
“To date, cases involving the same type of obstruction have been proven in many instances, all using the old Criminal Procedure Code,” he said.
Nevertheless, the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office will respect the judges’ decision and will pursue the cassation appeal, he added.
The three defendants in the obstruction of law enforcement case related to three corruption matters were acquitted in the verdict hearing before the judges at the Corruption Crimes Court, Central Jakarta District Court.
They are former television crew member Tian Bahtiar, activist and leader of a “buzzer” team Adhiya Muzakki, and lawyer Junaedi Saibih.
The three corruption cases involved tin commodities governance, crude palm oil (CPO) exports, and sugar imports.
Lead Judge Effendi affirmed that he found no criminal intent or unlawful conduct in Tian’s actions, as Tian was merely carrying out his journalistic duties by producing news reports. If those reports were deemed negative, the judge said, it was merely a matter of perspective or viewpoint, not a truth that could be measured by criminal standards.
Regarding Adhiya’s actions, the judges opined that his social media posts could not be viewed as criminal intent because he only made them after obtaining approval from lawyer Marcella Santoso. Therefore, if further proof is desired, it could be pursued in a general criminal court, not a corruption crimes court.
As for Junaedi, the lead judge considered that organising seminars, even with negative narratives, was part of non-litigation defence outside of court proceedings. “As long as it is conducted in accordance with applicable regulations, it is not part of conduct with unlawful characteristics,” the lead judge stated.
Moreover, the judge continued, Junaedi was proven never to have known, approved, or participated in the creation of news reports with negative content about the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office, either in mainstream or social media, as claimed by the public prosecutor.
Previously, Tian and Adhiya were charged with eight years’ imprisonment, whilst Junaedi was charged with ten years’ imprisonment.