T

he Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) banned family members and the legal team of prominent advocate OC Kaligis from visiting the former member of the NasDem Party executive board at its detention center during the Idul Fitri holiday from July 17 to 19.

KPK spokesman Priharsa Nugraha said on Tuesday Kaligis'€™ family members and team of lawyers were allowed to visit him at the detention center seven days after his detention started, technically from July 21 onwards, as regulated by an internal regulation of the antigraft body.

'€œThere is what we call an '€˜orientation period'€™ for a maximum of seven days for all fresh detainees,'€ Priharsa said, adding that all detainees could receive family members and colleagues after that period at the KPK detention center.

Antigraft body investigators arrested and detained the senior lawyer on July 14 after it found strong evidence that he had orchestrated a scheme to bribe three judges in Medan on July 9.

Priharsa added that the KPK only allowed visitors who have been approved for detainees on the visitation list of people submitted to KPK investigators. '€œThe list is filled in by detainees themselves. All detainees have the same rights in terms of visitations,'€ Priharsa added.

The arrest of Kaligis came just days after KPK investigators apprehended the three judges '€” Medan State Administrative Court (PTUN) head Tripeni Irianto Putra, Amir Fauzi and Dermawan Ginting '€” during a sting operation on July 9 in Medan for allegedly accepting US$20,000 in bribes from Kaligis'€™ aide Yagari '€œGerry'€ Bhastara Guntur.

On Friday, Kaligis'€™ daughter, movie star Velove Vexia, who came along with 11 other family members, and lawyer Alamsyah Hanafiah visited the KPK headquarters to seek permission to visit Kaligis but could not because of the orientation period restriction.

Alamsyah lambasted the KPK, saying the internal regulation had violated Kaligis'€™ rights as a human being.

'€œThis is a violation of human rights because there is a visitation restriction on the Idul Fitri holidays. Even graft convicts could meet their family members in prison during the Idul Fitri holidays, so why is the KPK so textbook-minded in applying the regulation?'€ Alamsyah asked reporters on Friday.

Velove also expressed her disappointment over the incident.

'€We had planned to visit Daddy during the Idul Fitri holiday because as we all know that some of our family members are Muslims. Last week, Dad had asked his family members to visit him during the Idul Fitri holidays,'€ she said.

The KPK allows visitors on a regular basis to come inside its detention center at its headquarters in South Jakarta every Monday and Thursday between 10 a.m. and 12 p.m.

However, specially for the Idul Fitri holidays, the KPK on Friday opened its detention center doors between 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. for visitors to visit detainees who have finished their '€˜orientation period'€™. Meanwhile, on Saturday, the KPK welcomed visitors to come to the detention center between 10 a.m. and 12 p.m.