Under House Arrest, ICW Claims KPK Grants Special Treatment to Former Minister of Religious Affairs Yaqut
Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) has criticised the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) for shifting the detention status of former Minister of Religious Affairs, Yaqut Cholil Qoumas, from a detention centre to house arrest. ICW views this move as a form of special treatment that harms the principle of equality before the law.
Head of the Legal and Investigation Division of ICW, Wana Alamsyah, urged KPK to immediately provide a transparent explanation to the public regarding the basis for transferring the detention of the suspect in the alleged 2024 Hajj quota corruption case.
“KPK must provide a transparent explanation regarding the reasons why YCQ (Yaqut Cholil Qoumas) was moved to house arrest. This is a form of special treatment given by KPK to a corruption suspect,” Wana stated in a written release on Sunday (22/3/2026).
Based on ICW’s records, KPK has historically been very strict in granting detention transfers. Such status is usually only given in urgent conditions, such as very serious health reasons.
Wana warned that this policy could become a bad precedent for Indonesia’s anti-corruption agenda. According to him, house arrest status provides opportunities for suspects to take actions that hinder the legal process.
“Suspects have the potential to destroy and eliminate evidence, or influence witnesses when under house arrest,” Wana said.
Previously, information about Yaqut’s disappearance from the KPK detention centre was revealed by the wife of former Deputy Minister of Manpower Immanuel Ebenezer (Noel), Silvia Rinita Harefa, after visiting Noel at the KPK detention centre during Eid on Saturday (21/3/2026). Silvia said that her husband and other KPK detainees had not seen Yaqut in detention since Thursday (19/3).
“This time, we didn’t see Gus Yaqut. The info is that he left on Thursday night,” Silvia said.
According to Silvia, her husband and other KPK detainees already knew that Yaqut had suddenly disappeared from the KPK detention centre. They were wondering about Yaqut’s current whereabouts.
“Everyone knows about it. They were just wondering, saying there was an examination, but it’s unlikely to have an examination on the eve of Takbiran night,” Silvia explained.
KPK spokesperson Budi Prasetyo explained that Yaqut’s detention status has now changed to house arrest. He clarified that the transfer of Yaqut’s detention status was not due to health conditions.
“It’s not because of illness,” Budi told reporters on Sunday (22/3/2026).
Budi said that house arrest for Yaqut was implemented after KPK received a request from the family. KPK then granted the request without providing further details on the family’s reasons for submitting the application.
“So, it was indeed because of a request from the family, and then we processed it,” Budi explained.
KPK also explained the different treatment received by Yaqut compared to other KPK detainees, such as former Papua Governor Lukas Enembe, whose detention was once suspended due to illness. Budi only stated that each investigation has different case handling strategies.
“Why different from LE? Every investigation process naturally has different conditions and case handling strategies, including the detention of a suspect,” Budi clarified.
ICW urged the KPK Supervisory Board to examine the leadership of the anti-corruption agency after transferring the detention status of former Minister of Religious Affairs, Yaqut Cholil Qoumas, from detention centre to house arrest.