A combination of strong public pressure and legal technicalities has forced the government, via the Attorney General'€™s Office (AGO), to bring to a permanent end the prolonged investigations into two separate legal cases pertaining to former Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) chairman Abraham Samad and one of his deputies, Bambang Widjojanto.

It took more than a year for the AGO to decide on terminating the prosecutions of the two, a procedure known in Indonesian legal terminology as deponeering '€” a legal action whereby the supreme prosecutor'€™s office halts a case with the backing of the House of Representatives based on recommendations from other relevant law enforcement institutions.

'€œFinally, based on legal considerations, prior consultation with other high-ranking institutions and my prerogative right as an attorney general, I decide to lay aside, drop the cases against Abraham Samad and Bambang Widjojanto,'€ Attorney General Prasetyo told a media conference in South Jakarta on Thursday.

Samad had been accused of having been involved in the fraudulent issuance of ID and family cards to a female friend, identified as Feriyani Lim, to enable her to apply for a passport in 2007.

Meanwhile, Bambang had been accused of perjury for allegedly encouraging witnesses to deliver false testimony during a Constitutional Court hearing on the West Kotawaringin gubernatorial election dispute in 2010.

Samad and Bambang were investigated by the police after the KPK named then police chief candidate Comr. Gen. Budi Gunawan a graft suspect. Budi was declared a graft suspect one day before he underwent his screening by House of Representatives'€™ Commission III overseeing legal affairs, on Jan. 13, 2015. The South Jakarta District Court later annulled Budi'€™s suspect status. He is now the National Police deputy chief.

Prasetyo admitted that both cases have sparked conflicting debate, pro and con the prosecutions, among the general public.

He revealed that he had consulted with the Supreme Court, the National Police and the House of Representatives before making the decision.

'€œThe Supreme Court and the National Police gave their full consent to our decision, while the House initially gave different perspectives although they gave me full consent at the end,'€ he said.

Prasetyo'€™s decision to drop the cases against Samad and Bambang has been applauded by many who described it as a major move that should be appreciated as it calmed the public and satisfied their sense of justice.

'€œJustice is associated with the public'€™s sense of fairness and this decision will cool down the public'€™s anger ['€¦] This is first and foremost the purpose of law enforcement. I salute the attorney general'€™s decision to listen to the public will,'€ Golkar party politician Leo Nababan said over the phone.

Presidential spokesman Johan Budi declined to say much about the deponeering of the cases, but said it was in the authority of the attorney general to make such a decision.

'€œSince the beginning, the President has left it to the attorney general to settle the case in accordance with existing legal mechanisms,'€ Johan said.

KPK commissioner La Ode Muhammad Syarif expressed his relief over the decision, saying that, '€œWe, at the KPK, will also be performing better in the future and will no longer be burdened by the KPK'€™s past records.'€

Legal expert Bivitri Susanti said that deponeering was a very strong mechanism and could be used only by the attorney general through his prerogative right.

'€œIt cannot be challenged anymore in court and this gives legal certainty in the country as well as frees Samad and Bambang from their criminal statuses. It gives back their rights, which were eliminated in the past year,'€ she said.

Ina Parlina and Haeril Halim contributed to the story

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