Todung Mulya Lubis: Saiful Mujani Accused of Treason, This is a Misconception
Saiful Mujani’s lawyer, Todung Mulya Lubis, has challenged those who reported Saiful Mujani to the Metro Jaya Police to respond to the senior political analyst’s views on the discourse of ousting Prabowo Subianto through argumentation, rather than reporting him to the police.
He expressed this during a focus group discussion (FGD) organised by the Interdisciplinary Intellectual Forum (FIAD), attended by hundreds of scientists and activists at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Indonesia, Central Jakarta, on Monday (13/4).
Todung stated that the accusation against Saiful of initiating treason is a misinterpretation. He said that what Saiful said was merely a political expression.
“Brother Saiful Mujani has been accused of inciting or initiating treason. I think this is a very misguided interpretation from those in power,” Todung told reporters.
“I think it is a political expression, a political statement recognised in democracy. Civil disobedience is also recognised in democracy. It has never been interpreted as a criminal act. In my view, this is a very brutal silencing of democratic rights,” he added.
As Saiful’s legal representative, he said he would do everything possible to prove that Saiful committed no violations.
“I have been asked by Saiful Mujani to be his legal representative, and I will do whatever I can, because in my opinion, there is no legal violation, no constitutional violation whatsoever committed by Saiful Mujani in this case,” he said.
He also challenged those who disagree with Saiful’s statements to rebut them, rather than reporting him to the police.
“If anyone objects to Saiful Mujani, please counter Saiful Mujani’s opinion. Not by reporting to the police. This is the most backward political and legal education, the most deadly to democracy and to the law itself,” he said.
At the same event, Professor of Legal Anthropology at the University of Indonesia, Sulistyowati Irianto, highlighted the academic freedom of scientists in expressing their views to the public in her speech.
“University autonomy and academic freedom are the soul of scientists, and without that soul, we cannot teach, research, be among the community, and express our academic opinions,” Sulistyowati said in her speech.
According to her, it is very surprising if academics are criminalised for expressing their views.
“Therefore, it is very surprising if academics are criminalised, reported to the police for expressing their academic opinions, expressing their paradigmatic positions,” she said.
Several parties previously claimed that Saiful Mujani called for consolidation to topple President Prabowo Subianto at the Analysts’ Halal Bihalal event held a few days ago.
This was directly denied by Saiful. According to him, political stance is one level below political participation or political action. Political participation, he said, is the core of democracy. Mujani said there is no democracy without political participation.
Because of his statement, Saiful was reported to the police for alleged incitement. He is now facing two legal processes for alleged incitement stemming from his statements.
Head of Public Relations of Metro Jaya Police, Commissioner Budi Hermanto, asked the public not to bring this case into the realm of political issues.
The report against Mujani was filed in the name of Robina Akbar from the East Jakarta Community Alliance and registered with number LP/B/2428/IV/2026/SPKT/POLDA METRO JAYA, dated 8 April 2026.