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ivil society organizations have criticized the National Police for their move to name former deputy law and human rights minister Denny Indrayana a graft suspect, calling the decision a systematic effort to silence critics of the police.

Antigraft activists are convinced that the police'€™s move to bring corruption charges against Denny for his alleged role in the Law and Human Rights Ministry'€™s online passport-payment system is motivated by police anger after Denny publicly supported the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) in its standoff with the police in January.

Chairman of the Indonesian Civil Society Circle, Ray Rangkuti, said on Thursday what befell Denny could happen to other antigraft activists in the future, especially those who strongly criticized the police.

Ray condemned the National Police for expediting their probe into Denny while hundreds of other graft cases languished in their anti-graft division. '€œThis is a warning [from the police]. This is their way of saying to other antigraft campaigners that in the future they should just shut their mouths because the police could quickly move against them and name them suspects right away,'€ Ray said.

Ray added that the police prosecution of Denny was a ploy to repair their battered image, especially following reports that some high-ranking police officers were involved in graft. '€œThe move against Denny is meant to restore the public'€™s perception that the police also support the national fight against corruption,'€ Ray said.

Separately, Denny'€™s lawyer Nurkholis Hidayat said he had uncovered a number of irregularities in the police investigation into the online passport-payment system.

Nurkholis said that it was strange that the letter of investigation into Denny was issued on Feb. 24, the date the police received a report, meaning that the police processed the report and named Denny a suspect in one day. '€œHow could the two different steps happen on the same day?,'€ Nurkholis said during a press conference at the Indonesian Legal Aid Institute Foundation (YLBHI) office on Thursday.

Nurkholis said the Police also violated Article 27 of Law No. 8/2009 on the National Police by not allowing a lawyer to accompany Denny when he was questioned on the case on March 12. '€œPolice investigators have broken their own rules. This is clear malpractice,'€ Nurkholis said.

Denny is scheduled to have his first questioning as a suspect in the case at the National Police headquarters on Friday.

In addition to this case, Denny stands accused of abusing his power by directly appointing two online service providers, PT Nusa Satu Inti Artha and PT Finnet Indonesia, to run the payment system, also known as a payment gateway.

Denny, who is a Gadjah Mada University law professor has been charged under Articles 2 and 3 of the Corruption Law in conjunction with Articles 55 and 421 of the Criminal Code (KUHP).

The online passport-payment service was launched on July 14 last year. It was abruptly halted in October after the ministry said that it had yet to authorize the start of the project.