Former Corruption Eradication Corruption (KPK) chief Antasari Azhar's has reiterated that his written testimony was false and was made while he was under pressure from the police, adding weight to evidence that the National Police conspired to incriminate two suspended KPK deputies with extortion and abuse of power.
Antasari's statement was made during recent questioning sessions with a presidential fact-finding team on two separate occasions.
"So far, Antasari has not made any new statements but keeps mentioning the same names - Ari Muladi, Anggoro Widjojo and Eddy Soemarsono," team member Komaruddin Hidayat told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.
However, another team member, Anies Baswedan, said the team needed to look for more evidence to support Antasari's account of the written testimony.
The team plans to meet President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in the immediate future to report its initial findings. Many believe their report will play a significant part in Yudhoyono's decision on how best to handle the case.
Antasari, currently on trial in a murder case, was transported Sunday from Jakarta Police detention center to the presidential inquiry team office to attend a questioning session.
"The written testimony was initially requested by investigators during an early questioning session," Antasari said Saturday.
The testimony was made after the police discovered evidence he had met bribery suspect Anggoro in Singapore. The evidence, comprising written material and recordings of conversations between Antasari and Anggoro, had been saved in his laptop, which was confiscated during their murder investigations. During these conversations, Anggoro had told Antasari that the KPK deputies had received bribes.
Antasari said police had then asked him to agree to the written testimony stating that other KPK leaders had received funds from Anggoro, who had been named suspect by the KPK in a graft case and remains at large.
However, later Antasari insisted that his testimony was based on the statements made by Anggoro and Ari, a man tasked by Anggoro to give funds to the KPK leaders.
Criminologist Adrianus Meliala had suggested the police verify their evidence to avoid loosing face at the upcoming hearing.
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