Ignoring calls from the public, the President's fact-finding team and a talk-show confession on national TV, police released Anggodo Widjojo on Wednesday evening, claiming they had insufficient evidence.
The police also confirmed that its chief of detectives Comr. Gen. Susno Duadji would keep his position despite being mentioned in the wiretapped recordings played at the Constitutional Court on Tuesday, which revealed an alleged plot to fabricate evidence to implicate two leaders of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), Bibit Samad Rianto and Chandra M. Hamzah, in criminal cases.
The recordings, which among others mentioned President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and high-ranking officials at the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) revealed that Anggodo, who was detained for questioning since Tuesday evening at the police headquarters in Jakarta, allegedly masterminded the plot to frame the KPK leaders.
As the 24-hour detention time for Anggodo expired at 8 p.m., the police, who had the choice to release him or name him a suspect to be able to extend the detention period, were tight-lipped about Anggodo’s status, while he secretly left the police headquarters via the back door.
“He went home just now as the police must free him after 24 hours of questioning,” Anggodo’s lawyer, Bonaran Situmeang, said as he left the police headquarters minutes after his client managed to leave without being spotted by the reporters.
National Police director for economic crimes, Brig. Gen. Raja Erisman, said that Anggodo was in fact under police protection as he was a witness, after filing a report with police about the case against the KPK.
“He is now under our protection,” he said.
National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Nanan Sukarna had blamed those who had spread the recordings instead of Anggodo, who admitted it was his voice in the recordings, and that he gave money to law enforcers to help his brother, Anggoro.
“We don’t have enough evidence to name him as a suspect in each one of the six allegations,” he said.
“We can’t blame him for his conversation with his friends, for mentioning the President, or for his threat to kill someone, as nothing materialized. It is people who spread the recordings that should be blamed.”
On the possible dismissal of Susno, he said that “as far as I know, he’s still in his position”.
The release of Anggodo and the police’s decision to retain Susno immediately drew anger from members of the fact-finding team or Team 8, with Todung Mulya Lubis accusing the police of “obstructing justice”. “This cannot be tolerated,” he said.
The team's chairman, Adnan Buyung Nasution, threatened the team would resign, as two of their three recommendations were ignored. “What’s the point of all our work?” he said.
Today the team is slated to meet with Susno, Anggodo and other key players in the case.
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