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Jakarta Post

Court upholds life sentence for Akil

The Jakarta High Court announced on Tuesday that it would uphold the verdict handed down by the Jakarta Corruption Court that sentenced former Constitutional Court chairman Akil Mochtar to life in prison for corruption and money laundering

Haeril Halim (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta
Wed, November 26, 2014

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Court upholds  life sentence for Akil

T

he Jakarta High Court announced on Tuesday that it would uphold the verdict handed down by the Jakarta Corruption Court that sentenced former Constitutional Court chairman Akil Mochtar to life in prison for corruption and money laundering.

'€œThe panel of judges at the Jakarta High Court has ruled to uphold the Jakarta Corruption Court verdict,'€ Jakarta High Court spokesman Muhammad Hatta said on Tuesday.

The decision was made five months after the Jakarta Corruption Court handed down its verdict.

In response to the verdict, Akil, through his lawyer Tamsil Sjoekoer, said that he would challenge the fresh verdict.

'€œAs our appeal has been rejected, we will file a cassation with the Supreme Court,'€ Tamsil said on Tuesday.

Akil himself had pledged that he would exhaust all legal means to prove his innocence. Soon after his conviction in July, Akil said, '€œIf justice is in God'€™s hands, I will fight whatever it takes to obtain it. Even if it is in heaven, I will go there to get it. I believe that there is still justice out there for me.'€

Separately, the antigraft body applauded the Jakarta High Court for upholding the primary court verdict, which marks the first time the KPK has succeeded in convincing the Jakarta Corruption Court to hand down a life sentence since its establishment in 2003.

'€œWe really appreciate the Jakarta High Court for its rejection of Akil'€™s appeal,'€ KPK spokesman Johan Budi said. '€œIt is the defendant'€™s [Akil] right to challenge the appellate verdict at the Supreme Court.'€

The prosecution of Akil begun after KPK investigators arrested him while accepting billions of rupiah in bribes from former Gunung Mas regent Hambit Bintih through a middleman in Jakarta on Oct. 3, 2013, in relation to a local election dispute being adjudicated at the Constitutional Court.

After his arrest, the KPK'€™s investigation further found that Akil had also accepted hundreds of billions of rupiah from nine other regional heads who bribed him to safeguard their interests in local election disputes being heard at the Constitutional Court.

The Jakarta Corruption Court also found Akil guilty of laundering his ill-gotten gains of around Rp 160 billion during his term at the Constitutional Court and Rp 20 billion when he served in the House of Representatives.

In their sentence demand, KPK prosecutors asked the panel of judges at the Jakarta Corruption Court to strip Akil of his political rights, but the panel dismissed the request as Akil would spend the rest of his life in prison should his verdict later be found legal and binding.

The panel of judges also freed Akil from his obligation to pay Rp 10 billion in restitution for his corruption and money laundering offenses, claiming that no restitution was necessary for someone would spend life in prison.

In addition to the bribery case, the antigraft body is now building a new case to again implicate Akil by going after other regional heads who bribed him.

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