Yaqut Prepares Experts to Challenge KPK's Suspect-Designation Procedure

JAKARTA – Former Minister of Religious Affairs Yaqut Cholil Qoumas will summon several expert witnesses for the evidentiary stage of his pre-trial challenge against the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK).

The next hearing in the case is scheduled to take place at the South Jakarta District Court on Thursday (5 March 2026).

Yaqut’s legal representative, Mellisa Anggraini, said they have prepared three to four experts to test the arguments presented by the KPK in its response and replication.

‘We have prepared experts. What they say in the response and replication today, we will test tomorrow with the experts. Tomorrow we will bring three or four experts. We will announce who the experts are tomorrow,’ Mellisa said on Wednesday (4 March 2026).

Mellisa argued that from the outset the KPK had in fact applied the new KUHAP provisions in the process of designating a suspect in her client’s case. She gave an example that the notification letter was issued one day after the designation letter, which she said complies with the new KUHAP. However, in the KPK’s proceedings they claim to be using the old KUHAP.

‘So actually they have applied the new KUHAP, but for justification they say they are using the old KUHAP,’ Mellisa said.

Mellisa pointed to the KPK’s statement acknowledging that the suspect designation was carried out by the agency’s leadership.

According to her, under the amendments to the KPK Law, the leadership is no longer an investigator.

‘Thus, the designation was carried out by an unauthorised party, so there is a procedural defect,’ she said.

The evidentiary pre-trial hearing will be a crucial stage in testing whether the designation of the suspect against Yaqut by the KPK is valid.