Heru Andriyanto – Gayus Tambunan says prosecutor Cirus Sinaga holds crucial information in the murder conviction of a former antigraft chief, which helps him evade punishment for leaking trial documents ahead of Gayus's embezzlement trial.

"Gayus implied that the [Antasari Azhar murder case] was fabricated," Neta Pane, chairman of Indonesia Police Watch, told the Jakarta Globe on Sunday. "Implicating [Cirus] could risk seeing him leak this [information] and therefore, Cirus was left without charges," he said.

Antasari, former head of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), was sentenced to 18 years in jail for ordering the murder of a state enterprise executive in March 2009. The prosecution team led by Cirus said Antasari had an affair with a young golf caddy, who turned out to be the executive's wife.

The former KPK chief's trial was marked by controversy from its opening day, when the court and the media heard an indictment filled with graphic sexual descriptions.

"If Gayus's remarks are for real, then we demand that the National Commission on Human Rights [Komnas HAM] establish a fact-finding team [to probe the] murder case," Neta said. Imprisoning someone over trumped-up charges is a serious human rights violation, he said.

Cirus led the prosecution panel against Antasari from October 2009 to February last year. At the same time, he built an embezzlement case against Gayus, for which the former taxman was acquitted by the Tangerang District Court in March last year. Cirus is accused of leaking sentencing documents to Gayus's camp during that trial.

Two police officers and a judge have been convicted of taking bribes from Gayus. But Cirus, who allegedly lobbied to get money laundering charges against the taxman dropped, remains free.

"There are reasons why what Gayus said could have truth in it," Neta said. "In fact, the prosecution against Gayus coincided with the Antasari trial involving the same key prosecutor.

"Furthermore, Cirus is still a witness although the [Attorney General's Office] has already reported him to the police for leaking documents in the [Tangerang] trial," he added.

Gayus, recently sentenced to seven years in jail for bribery, "told us that the police had no guts to implicate Cirus for fear that he would uncover the fabrication of the Antasari case," Neta said.

On Friday the AGO confirmed that Cirus remained an active prosecutor since police had yet to name him as a suspect for leaking prosecution documents.

Muhammad Assegaf, a lawyer for Antasari, said on Sunday that his team planned to visit Gayus in his cell to "dig more information about his remarks."

"That increased our longtime belief that the murder case had been fabricated," Assegaf said by telephone. "How come Gayus said something that had nothing to do with his own case? He must know something. Cirus must know something."

"We need to get further explanations from Gayus because they could prove crucial in our case review proposal," the lawyer said.