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Court rejects Firli’s pretrial motion in ex-minister extortion case
The judge argues that the plaintiff has mixed up formal and nonformal materials which is beyond the court's authority. Firli has also presented irrelevant pieces of evidence, making the reason behind the pretrial motion unclear or vague, according to the judge.
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Protestors demonstrate in front of the South Jakarta District Court on Dec. 19, 2023. They demand a sole judge with the court to reject a pretrial motion filed by suspended Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) chairman Firli Bahuri against the Jakarta Police's naming him as a suspect in an extortion case against former agriculture minister Syahrul Yasin Limpo. (Antara/Muhammad Ramdan)
T
he South Jakarta District Court has rejected a pretrial motion filed by suspended Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) chairman Firli Bahuri challenging the police’s naming him as a suspect in an extortion case of a former minister.
During a hearing on Wednesday, sole judge Imelda Herawati rejected Firli’s motions, concluding that the process carried out by the Jakarta Police to name him a suspect in the case was valid and according to the law.
“[The plaintiff] has mixed up formal and nonformal materials, which is beyond the pretrial court's authority. [The plaintiff] also presented irrelevant pieces of evidence,” Imelda said reading the verdict. “The judge argued the underlying reason behind the pretrial motion was unclear or vague.”
Police named Firli as a suspect on Nov. 22 for allegedly extorting former agriculture minister and NasDem Party politician Syahrul Yasin Limpo, whom the KPK had named as a suspect in a separate bribery investigation.
The extortion was related to the antigraft body’s investigation into a case at the Agriculture Ministry between 2020 and 2023, according to Jakarta Police chief detective Sr. Comr. Ade Safri Simanjuntak.
Read also: KPK marches on as leader fights graft charges
Since the investigation began in October, Jakarta Police investigators have confiscated several pieces of evidence, including foreign currency exchange transactions in Singapore and US dollars worth Rp 7.4 billion (US$477,730) dated between February 2021 and September of this year.
