Dicky Christanto, Jakarta – The Attorney General Office's (AGO) latest admission that a prosecutor was involved in a mediating attempt to save PT Masaro president director Anggoro Widjojo, a suspect in a multi-million dollar corruption case, from prosecution, is proof that many prosecutors still get bribes from graft suspects, a civil society groups coalition says.

"Why do I get the impression that the one concerned about the AGO is always someone other than the prosecutors themselves. The AGO evidently has learned nothing from its previous mistake on Urip's involvement in Artalyta bribery case," said Emerson Yuntho of the Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW), on Monday.

Prosecutor Urip Tri Gunawan was sentenced to six years in prison after the panel of graft court judges found him guilty of having received US$600,000 worth of bribes in connection with a graft case involving tycoon Syamsul Nursalim's sidekick Artalyta Suryani.

He said the recently revealed involvement of prosecutor Irwan Nasution with Anggoro's secret meeting with suspended (KPK) chairman Antasari Azhar had shown that there had been serious lack of internal monitoring toward the prosecutors themselves.

Antasari has been detained for the past four months as a suspect in the March 14 murder of Nasruddin Zulkarnaen, the then director of pharmaceutical company PT Putra Rajawali Banjaran.

While in detention, Antasari gave written testimony that a deputy chief of the KPK had accepted a bribe from Anggoro Widjojo, who is wanted by police.

"A man who is currently under KPK investigation should have been prohibited from meeting law enforcers such as prosecutors," Emerson said.

"Thus once it happens, the internal monitoring team should conduct early investigation to find out what has happened."

Irwan's involvement was initially revealed by Eddy Sumarsono, a senior journalist, who had been reported by Anggoro Widjojo's lawyer Bonaran Situmeang to the National Police headquarters over the allegation to have extorted Rp 6 billion from his client.

Bonaran, who came to the police last week, said his client Anggoro Widjojo had given the money to Eddy and his accomplice Ary Mulyadi.

He said the two men had promised his client they were going to give the money to some KPK leaders so they would halt the investigation of the graft case in which Anggoro had been involved.

Eddy, who has been questioned by the police, said prosecutor Irwan introduced him to Anggoro. "The meeting happened in Irwan's room around September last year," Eddy recently said.

He acknowledged he was the one who had mediated the meeting in Singapore November last year, but denied the accusation he had asked Anggoro for money.

However, Irwan denied he had mediated the meeting with a specific purpose. "It was just because I could help Anggoro to meet Antasari. Once, when I saw Eddy walking near my office, I suggested that Anggoro discuss his problem with him. And that was it. I didn't know what happened next," he told reporters.

Junior Attorney General for Monitoring Hamzah Tadja said he had signed an official letter ordering Irwan to be questioned by the internal monitoring team some day this week. "I expect that we will have questioned him at the end of this week."

Legal expert from Muhammadiyah University in Jakarta Chaerul Huda had strongly warned the AGO to start pay serious attention in monitoring its prosecutors or else its integrity would be once again tainted.

"And if the AGO seems to have been lack of will in reforming itself, then it is the government's turn to fix the situation," Chaerul said.

He said the upcoming administration should first reform the monitoring commission on prosecutor's legal standing before it could be able to organize stricter measures toward every potential violation done by the prosecutors.

"The commission should be empowered to investigate any potential violation."