Former anticorruption agency chief Antasari Azhar has been found guilty of ordering the murder of state firm director Nasrudin Zulkarnaen and was sentenced to 18 years imprisonment.

Head judge Herri Swantoro, along with fellow judges Nugroho Setiadji and Prasetyo Ibnu Asmara, delivered the verdict at South Jakarta District Court on Thursday just after 4 p.m. Antasari told the court that he would appeal the decision.

"I respect the verdict both personally as a good citizen and as a law enforcement agent. However, I will appeal the verdict," Antasari told the court, sparking applause from those watching.

In response, Judge Herri asked the audience to maintain decorum. "To the audience, the defendant has showed very good manners during the hearing, so I hope you all will too," Herri said.

At the Presidential Palace, Attorney General Hendarman Supandji said that his office would also appeal the verdict, because it was lower than the prosecutors' demand for the death sentence.

"For verdicts that are lighter than the prosecutors' demand, we will appeal," Hendarman said. "The judges, prosecutors and defendant have seven days to convey their opinion. The benchmark is, if the discrepancy between the verdict and our demand is too wide, we will appeal."

However, he added that the most important thing was that the four defendants facing the court on Thursday were found guilty. "We only differ in terms of 'strachtmaat', which means that the demand and the sentence are different."

Patrialis Akbar, the minister of justice and human rights, said that he respected the court ruling. "The fear about the death sentences has been answered," he said. "We just have to respect it, and those who are not satisfied can appeal. The government should not intervene in the process."

The scandal-filled murder trial began in October, after the director of PT Putra Rajawali Banjaran, Nasrudin Zulkarnaen, was shot near Modernland Golf Club in Tangerang on March 14, 2009.

Antasari, who was the head of the Corruption Eradication Commission and a member of the Attorney General's Office for more than 20 years, was accused of ordering the murder of the businessman and was named a suspect in May last year.

Prosecutors said in their indictment that Nasrudin was blackmailing Antasari over an alleged sexual encounter with Rani Juliani, Nasrudin's third wife, and that Antasari ordered the murder to cover up the affair.

In his defense, Antasari said there was a political conspiracy to topple him from his position at the antigraft commission. He denied a sexual relationship with Rani, calling their meeting at the Grand Mahakam Hotel a "set-up" by Nasrudin.

Prosecutors had demanded a death sentence for Antasari on January 19.