Jakarta – The chairman of Indonesia's Judicial Commission has questioned whether the judges presiding over a pre-trial motion brought by Comr. Gen. Budi Gunawan against the country's anti-graft commission are qualified to assess facial expressions.

The legal team representing Budi, who filed a motion against the Corruption Eradication Commission, or KPK, after it named him a graft suspect last month, has included video evidence as part of its case.

Budi's lawyers allege the KPK commissioners' facial expressions in the video, in which they announce Budi a corruption suspect, suggest they are mocking the three-star general.

Budi's legal team have argued that the KPK's decision to name their client a graft suspect was an abuse of authority and charges should be dropped.

On Friday, Judicial Commission Chairman Suparman Marzuki questioned whether facial expressions can accurately be assessed by a judge in court.

"A facial expression is open to multiple interpretations," Suparman said, as quoted by news portal Tempo.co. "A judge should at least be qualified to evaluate facial expressions. "I don't know if Judge Sarpin has that competency," he said, referring to the lead magistrate.

The hearing started in South Jakarta District Court on Monday after it was delayed a week when representatives for the KPK failed to show.

Source: http://thejakartaglobe.beritasatu.com/news/judicial-commission-is-facial-expression-evidence/