Heru Andriyanto, Jakarta – Antigraft commissioner Bibit Samad Rianto, facing the threat of a criminal trial for bribery, insists the case against him is fabricated and blames the Attorney General's Office for not burying it for good.

Bibit and Chandra M Hamzah, both deputy chairmen of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), were accused of extorting a bribe from businessman Anggodo Widjojo and abusing their power in imposing and then lifting a travel ban against his brother, Anggoro.

However, wiretapped recordings played back at the Constitutional Court last year indicated the charges were fabricated, prompting the creation of a presidentially appointed team to look into the case.

The team recommended the AGO drop the case for lack of evidence under the deponering principle held over from the Dutch colonial period, but the AGO chose to abandon it because prosecuting it would be "morally harmful."

Earlier this month, the Supreme Court overruled the AGO's decision, effectively ordering it to take Bibit and Chandra to trial. That came after the conviction in August of Anggodo, widely believed to have orchestrated the framing of the KPK deputies after he attempted to bribe the two.

Bibit said on Sunday any trial would be unnecessary in light of fabrication allegations and the failure by police to back their charges with strong evidence. "I served as a police officer for 37 years, so I know full well that no case lacking evidence should ever be prosecuted."

He also slammed the AGO for not invoking the deponering principle, which gives it the right to drop the case in the public interest. "There hasn't been any conclusive progress in the case within the past year, so why has the AGO left our fate hanging in the balance?" Bibit said.

On Friday, acting Attorney General Darmono said the AGO "never had the intention" of dragging out the case, adding his office was working closely with the National Police and the antigraft commission to resolve the legal wrangle.

While supporters of Bibit and Chandra say they must be absolved of all charges, legal and antigraft experts Todung Mulya Lubis and Adnan Buyung Nasution said the trial should proceed in order to uncover the truth about the role of the police and the prosecutors in the alleged fabrication of charges.

But Bibit said this was unfair. "The court isn't the only place to seek justice," he said. "I face the threat of a trial based on a legal motion filed by Anggodo, but the man in question has already been convicted of corruption, so why should I be tried?"

However, he said he would accept a trial if all other options ran out. "I'm a suspect now, and if they finally take the case to court, I'll accept that because maybe a trial would be my biggest chance to uphold justice," Bibit said. "I'm a law enforcer and here I am, getting fooled by them. Imagine what would happen in the case of an ordinary citizen who knew nothing of the law."

Bibit said the KPK remained solid and fully committed to its antigraft campaign, despite the distraction of the case implicating him and Chandra, and the leadership vacuum following the sacking of former chairman Antasari Azhar.