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Miryam's arguments not relevant to pretrial motion: KPK
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Officials move former lawmaker and perjury suspect Miryam S. Haryani (center) to the Jakarta Police headquarters from a hotel in Kemang, South Jakarta, on May 1. (Antara/Akbar Nugroho Gumay)
T
he arguments presented by former lawmaker Miryam S. Haryani in a pretrial hearing of her perjury case at the South Jakarta District Court on Monday were not relevant to the hearing, Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) legal division head Setiadi has said.
The pretrial hearing of Miryam, a former Hanura Party lawmaker and suspect in a mega scandal related to the electronic identity card (e-ID) project, did not follow the rules as it had discussed issues related to the case, Setiadi said.
"A pretrial hearing does not handle the substance of an issue," he said after the hearing.
"In this case, all parties are expected to follow the rule."
During Monday's hearing, Miryam’s lawyers asked the court to rule the KPK's decision to name their client a suspect invalid, arguing the anti-graft body was only authorized by law to investigate the corruption case, not other alleged crimes, including the perjury case.
The KPK named Miryam a perjury suspect after she retracted her affidavit in a hearing in March. In the affidavit, Miryam alleged that some lawmakers in the House had benefited from the e-ID funds and that she herself was the one who distributed the money. However, testifying under oath, Miryam said in a hearing that she made the statements because she was threatened by KPK investigators.
