I think the panel of judges has been really objective amidst internal and public pressure.
Jakarta (ANTARA) - The South Jakarta District Court handed an objective verdict to defendant Richard Eliezer (Bharada E) in the case involving the premeditated murder of Brigadier Nofriansyah Yosua Hutabarat, also known as Brigadier J.

Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs, Mahfud MD, conveyed the remarks while speaking to reporters at the Parliament building in Jakarta on Wednesday.

"I think the panel of judges has been really objective amidst internal and public pressure," the minister declared.

He said he believed that the sentencing of Eliezer has fulfilled the public’s sense of justice.

He further said he felt grateful and ecstatic over the verdict given by the judges. The judges have shown nationalism and integrity, he added.

“Therefore, we should congratulate (them). I don't know, I do not take sides, but today, I feel grateful and happy that we have nationalist and integrated judges," he remarked.

The South Jakarta District Court on Wednesday sentenced Eliezer to one year and six months in prison over the murder of Brigadier J.

Eliezer's sentence was lighter than the 12-year prison term sought by the public prosecutor on January 18, 2023.

"Sentenced the defendant Richard Eliezer with imprisonment for one year and six months," Chief Judge Wahyu Iman Santoso said during the trial at South Jakarta District Court.

Eliezer was legally and convincingly proven guilty of violating Article 340, subsidiary Article 338 juncto Article 55, paragraph (1) 1st of the Criminal Code, he added.

In arriving at their decision, the judges took aggravating and mitigating factors into account, and the incriminating aspect was that Eliezer's close relationship with the victim was not valued.

"(In terms of) the mitigating factor, the defendant is a witness to the perpetrators, who cooperated," judiciary panel member Alimin Ribut Sujono said.

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Translator: Shofi Ayudiana
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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