Nivell Rayda – Legal experts and antigraft watchdogs said on Wednesday that police might have exceeded their power by declaring two executives from the Corruption Eradication Commission as suspects and charging them with misuse of power.
In yet another blow to the independent antigraft body, also known as the KPK, police late on Tuesday evening declared KPK deputy chairmen Chandra Hamzah and Bibit Samad Riyanto as suspects alleged to have violated Article 23 of the 1999 Corruption Law.
In a bizarre twist, however, police said that the violation was connected to the issuance of travel bans by the KPK against two businessmen wanted for alleged involvement in corruption cases, Djoko Tjandra and Anggoro Widjaja.
The article prohibits a civil servant from misusing his power to control the behavior of another person. But Eddy Hiariej, a legal expert from Gajah Mada University in Yogyakarta, said that police had misinterpreted the article completely.
"The article is not open for multiple interpretations. One substantial element missing from the case is the misuse of power itself," Eddy said.
"The issuance of the travel bans was related to corruption cases being investigated by the KPK. Police cannot make a criminal case against the KPK executives for doing their job," he said.
Hasril Hartanto, a legal expert from the University of Indonesia in Jakarta, said that the KPK had the right to request a travel ban from the immigration office as stated in the 2003 KPK Law.
"The KPK had all the necessary legal standing for issuing the travel bans," Hasril said. "The KPK even had a standard operating procedure for issuing the ban. If police want to make a case out of the bans, they should go to the Constitutional Court and try to have the law annulled."
The Constitutional Court has heard motions to have the KPK Law annulled or reviewed seven times since the law was passed. Each time the court upheld the KPK Law and deemed that it "aligned with the constitution."
On Wednesday, the Indonesian Anti-Corruption Society (MAKI) immediately filed for a preliminary trial at the South Jakarta District Court to have the police's decision annulled on the grounds of lack of evidence.
Emerson Yuntho, deputy chairman of Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) said that through his inaction, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono had supported the police on the "ridiculous charges" against the KPK officers and had thus assisted efforts to weaken the antigraft body.
"The charges are irrational and inappropriate. The president must ensure that police are professional in handling the case and free from political pressure," Emerson said.
Emerson noted that police originally investigated claims by KPK suspended chief, Antasari Azhar, who alleged that several of his colleagues had received bribes from Anggoro in return for not naming the businessman as a suspect in a corruption case. However, police later shifted the investigation to abuse of power due to the lack of evidence to support Antasari's claims.
"The shifting of the investigation showed that the police have not been professional in handling the case and were finding excuses to pin the KPK," he said. "Now that Chandra and Bibit have been declared suspects, the two have to be suspended from their positions, which seriously hampers the KPK."
The two remaining members of the commission, Haryono Umar and Mochammad Jasin, pledged on Wednesday that the KPK would still perform its usual functions to attempt to eradicate corruption. "We remain solid. We are certain that Chandra and Bibit are innocent and we will support them all the way," Jasin said.