Police arrest suspect in election document forgery

The National Police says it arrested Mashuri Hasan as a suspect in connection with the forgery of a document in the 2009 election.

“[We arrested Mashuri] this morning in Bandung,” National Police deputy spokesman Sr. Comr. Boy Rafli Amar said in a text message sent to The Jakarta Post.

Mashuri was a staff member of the Constitutional Court when the election document forgery allegedly took place in 2009.

The forgery case is linked to a dispute between Dewi Yasin Limpo of the People's Conscience Party (Hanura) and Mestariani Habie of the Greater Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra). Both claimed to have won a seat at the House of Representatives, to represent the South Sulawesi I electoral region.

The case was taken to the Constitutional Court, which on Aug. 14, 2009 ruled in favor of Dewi.

However, in a letter on Aug. 17 that year, the Constitutional Court granted the seat to Gerindra. (rcf)