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lawyer defending a graft suspect in a bribery case centered on the construction of SEA Games sport facilities has accused a Democratic Party politician of forcing his client to fire him as her lawyer.

Kamaruddin Simanjuntak — who previously claimed he had received threats that he believed to be an attempt to silence him — said Friday that he was no longer representing Mindo Rosalina Manulang, who is accused of having assisted a businessman in bribing a Youth and Sports Ministry official to win a tender for the construction of a Rp 200 billion (US$23.2 million) dormitory for athletes in Palembang, South Sumatera.

“There sure is a lot of pressure against my client, Mindo Rosalina Manulang,” he said. “It’s definitely coming from her boss, Muhammad Nazaruddin,” he said, referring to the Democratic Party’s treasurer, who is a lawmaker in the House of Representatives’ Commission III overseeing legal affairs.

Rosalina, who the lawyer claimed was an aide to Nazaruddin, is now in the Corruption Eradication Commission’s (KPK) custody.

Rosalina has signed a letter dismissing Kamaruddin, he said. The letter, Kamaruddin said, was delivered by the same men who had threatened to hurt him right after he had left the Pondok Bambu detention center.

However, Rosalina denied Kamaruddin’s statement, saying Kamaruddin was making up stories.

She said Djufri Taufik had replaced Kamaruddin as her lawyer.

“I cannot use two law firms. I feel more comfortable and safe having Djufri as my lawyer. So, I consciously chose him without any pressure,” she told reporters after a questioning at KPK headquarters on Friday.

Rosalina dismissed Kamaruddin on Wednesday at 6 p.m.

She also stated that Nazaruddin was not her boss, which was contrary to what was written in her dismissal letter. “Yes, I work for PT Anak Negeri as marketing director. But it has no affiliation with Nazaruddin. My boss is Franky,” she said.

Nazaruddin has repeatedly denied knowing Rosalina. Also on Friday, the Democratic Party’s Benny K. harman called on the public to stop politicizing the case and let the KPK get on with its investigation.

He said his party had sought clarification from Sports and Youth Affairs Minister Andi Mallarangeng and Muhammad Nazaruddin, who said they were not involved and the case had nothing to do with the party.

“Both have said they were not involved in the case and we can do nothing but rely on our members’ statement. We also want to clarify that they have never been asked or ordered to raise funds for the party,” he said.

He denied allegations that his party or its members had intimidated Rosalina and her lawyer in an attempt to silence them.

“The dismissal of Kamaruddin Simanjuntak has nothing to do with us,” he said.