Threatening message to Nasrudin may have been sent online: Expert

A text message that allegedly contained a murder threat from defendant Antasari Azhar to state pharmaceutical firm director Nasruddin Zulkarnaen may been sent through a website, and not from a cell phone, an expert told the South Jakarta District Court on Tuesday.

Agung Harsoyo, an IT expert from the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB), said the court should ask the cellular operator to check on the possibility of sending of the message from a website.

Defense lawyers then moved for permission from the court to do so, but the motion was turned down, with the judges citing “court efficiency”.

The judges added they had already issued a permit for the lawyers and Agung to analyze cell phone records from Antasari, Nasruddin and another defendant, Sigid Haryo Wibisono.

Prosecutors allege Antasari, the former Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) chairman, sent Nasruddin a death threat between February and March last year via cell phone.

However, cell phone records for that period showed no such message, Agung said.

“But the defendant phoned the victim in February for around nine minutes,” he said.

“He also received four messages from Nasruddin, none of which he replied to.”

He added the defendant had sent 33 text messages to Sigid in February.