Urbaningrum was escorted out of the prison at 1:30 p.m. local time (UTC +7) and welcomed by supporters waiting for his release. They included legislators Saan Mustopa and Rifqi Karsayuda, Nusantara Awakening Party (PKN) Head I Gede Pasek Suardika, and several members of the Islamic Students Association (HMI).
"Praise be to God that today, April 11, 2023, by the accompaniment of my ‘principal,’ prison head Mr. Kunrat Kasmiri and the (ministry regional office's) Prisons Department Head, who had also served as the 'principal' here, I can stand here to participate in the pre-release program," he stated after leaving the prison.
He also expressed gratitude to all prison officials and inmates whom he interacted with while serving his sentence of nine years and three months.
"I will never forget their treatment of me," he added.
Earlier, Kasmiri said Urbaningrum's release under the pre-release program would require him to make weekly reports to the prison authority for at least three months.
"I hope Mr. Anas can be fully freed and return to his family," he added.
The former legislator was sentenced to eight years in prison and was ordered to pay a fine of Rp300 million or undergo a further three-month imprisonment after he was found guilty of corruption and money laundering in September 2014.
He was also asked to pay Rp57.59 billion and US$5.26 million in restitution for receiving gratification for several government projects.
While he successfully appealed to get his prison sentence reduced to 7 years at a higher court in early 2015, the Supreme Court increased Urbaningrum's sentence to 14 years following a cassation filed by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) the same year.
A judicial review filed by him in the Supreme Court in 2020 reinstated his original sentence.
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Translator: Bagus Ahmad R, Nabil Ihsan
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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