President to issue decree on suspended KPK leaders

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Fri, 11/27/2009 1:17 PM  |  National

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono will soon issue a presidential decree related to two Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) deputy chairmen suspended following bribery and power abuse allegation.

Presidential spokesman Julian Aldrin Pasha said Friday that the issuance of the decree was to be made in accordance with a ruling by the Constitutional Court over the suspension of KPK deputies Bibit Samad Rianto and Chandra M. Hamzah.

The Court annulled Wednesday an article in the KPK law ruling that its leaders must be removed once they are declared defendants.

The Constitutional Court ruled the above article in the KPK law could be abused and indicated evidence of judicial corruption by “brokers” in wiretapped recordings presented in Court.

The Court judges said in their ruling, “After hearing the recordings, we ... have found facts indicating engineering or fabrication of evidence, or at least conversations between law enforcers and Anggodo Widjojo [an alleged middleman], leading to potential fabrication of evidence so [Bibit and Chandra] are made suspects or defendants.”

Bibit and Chandra were declared suspects after the police accused them of  extorting KPK fugitive Anggoro Widjojo, Anggodo’s brother, and abusing their power.

Julian said that Yudhoyono was still studying the Constitutional Court ruling.

“We are still studying it, but we are respecting the court's ruling,” he told tempointeraktif.com.

Julian said it was possible that both deputies be reinstalled. “Insya Allah [God willing] the decree will be issued next week,” he said.

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