In view of this, following the issuance of the decision, the two cases have been closed and denied, and the attorney general expressed hope that all parties would understand his decision and accept it.
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Attorney General HM Prasetyo dropped the cases of Abraham Samad and Bambang Widjojanto, respectively the former chief and deputy chief commissioners of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), here on Thursday, citing public interest.

HM Prasetyo made the decision based on his prerogative as stated in Article 35c of Law Number 16 of 2004 on prosecution.

In view of this, following the issuance of the decision, the two cases have been closed and denied.

The attorney general expressed hope that all parties would understand his decision and accept it.

He said corruption eradication is a matter of public concern while Samad and Widjojanto were known as figures with strong commitment to fight corruption.

He said it was feared that the spirit of corruption eradication in the country would be dampened if their cases were not immediately settled.

HM Prasetyo said before making the decision that he had sought the advice of the Supreme Court, the House of Representatives, and the National Police.

The three institutions, especially the Supreme Court and the National Police, had fully referred the decision to him as the one who has the prerogative to decide to close or to continue a case.

There were slight differences of opinion with regard to the matter in the House of Representatives.

Besides seeking advice from state institution leaders, the attorney general had also observed, paid attention to, and heard the aspirations and demand for justice from the public over the case.

Abraham was named a suspect over his alleged involvement in a forgery case of a population document by Ferriyani Lim, while Widjojanto was named for having allegedly advised his client to lie while he was a lawyer, long before he was named KPK commissioner.

Several quarters have suspected that Abraham and Widjojanto were being victimized as they were named suspects after the KPK declared Commissioner General Budi Gunawan as a suspect in a corruption case. That development had ensured that Gunawan did not become the national police chief.

The court, however, later declared that the KPK had been wrong in naming Gunawan as a suspect, setting him free of any charges. Gunawan is now the deputy national police chief.

President Joko Widodo had recently ordered the concerned agencies to expedite the settlement of their cases as well as the case of KPK investigator Novel Baswedan.

The attorney general recently decided to drop the case of Baswedan due to lack of evidence.(*)

Editor: Heru Purwanto
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