J

ust days after senior legal expert Romli Atmasasmita filed a police report against two Indonesian Corruption Watch (ICW) members over defamation, the ICW has revealed a plan to force Romli to make a public apology over his accusations on social media that the antigraft body had received funds from the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK).

Romli, a law professor from Bandung-based Padjadjaran University, reported on Thursday former KPK advisor Said Zainal Abidin and ICW activists Emerson Yuntho and Adnan Topan Husodo to the National Police'€™s Criminal Investigation Department (Bareskrim) for allegedly slandering him, especially in their comments printed recently in several newspapers regarding his possible appointment as a member of the government'€™s committee tasked with selecting KPK leadership.

In response to Romli'€™s report, Adnan, who is also an ICW deputy coordinator, said the organization was planning to fight back, targeting Romli'€™s misleading public accusations about the ICW.

'€œPak Romli has repeatedly accused the ICW of receiving funds from the KPK, claiming that he learned about the information from a Supreme Audit Agency [BPK] audit. We, however, have remained silent since he shared such accusations through social media,'€ Adnan told The Jakarta Post.

'€œHowever, following his recent legal action against us, the ICW has found it necessary to seek Pak Romli'€™s clarification about the accusations.'€

Adnan, however, did not elaborate on whether the ICW would take legal action to follow up the case.

'€œShould Pak Romli fail to come up with solid evidence or satisfying clarification regarding his accusations, we will demand that he make a public apology,'€ he said, adding that he was ready to cooperate with the police to follow up on Romli'€™s report.

After numerous media reports speculated that President Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo would nominate Romli and two legal analysts known for giving counsel to graft suspects, Jokowi announced on Thursday that he had appointed nine female experts to be members of the selection team for the KPK leadership.

The three antigraft activists have campaigned publicly against the nomination of Romli for the selection team membership.

Romli, a law professor from Padjadjaran University whom many considered to be the brain behind the establishment of the 2002 KPK Law, also challenged the activists'€™ allegations that his presence at the recent pretrial hearing of deputy National Police chief and former graft suspect Comr. Gen. Budi Gunawan harmed his credibility as an antigraft champion and therefore made him unworthy of taking a seat in the KPK selection team.

Romli also used his Twitter account @romliatma, which has more than 7,000 followers, to strongly question the ICW'€™s credibility.

'€œHow come the ICW, [which] does not admit it is a [mass organization] according to [mass organization] law, accepted KPK projects funded by the state budget? Where is your responsibility?'€ he tweeted on Wednesday.

In an interview with the Post, Romli insisted that his legal action against the three activists was necessary.

'€œI made thorough calculations before filing the police report. If I stayed quiet, there would be a public perception that even a law professor who had helped set up the KPK was powerless when dealing with an NGO,'€ he said on Friday.

In September 2009, the South Jakarta District Court found Romli guilty of graft in connection with the Law and Human Rights Ministry'€™s online business registration service project.

He was implicated in the graft case in his capacity as the former director general for legal administration who initiated the project.

In February 2010, the Jakarta High Court reduced his sentence to one year in prison.

In December 2010, a Supreme Court verdict had lifted all charges against him, on the basis that his role in the case was not considered a crime, and released him from prison.