Lawmaker Ruhut Sitompul of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s Democratic Party accused Amir and Denny of placating the President, their party chairman, to improve their image following their recent appointment to the Cabinet on Oct. 18.

“The party contains only three kinds of members: defenders, traitors and bootlickers. These two fall into the last category,” Ruhut said, claiming that he was a defender of Yudhoyono who did not have any political interests.

Nudirman and Ruhut said that Amir and Denny had acted with good intensions, but that the policy was against Law No. 12/1995 on correctional institutions and Government Regulation No. 28/2006 which stipulate prisoners’ rights to remissions.

“If they want to gain popularity, they should consult with law experts and their predecessors before making the policy,” Ruhut said.

Former law and human rights minister Yusril Ihza Mahendra, who is a law professor, criticized the moratorium, saying he would bring the 2006 ministerial decree to the Supreme Court for review.

He emphasized that the moratorium was against not only the 1995 correctional institution law and the 2006 government regulation, but also the UN Convention against Corruption which Indonesia had signed in 2000.

He said that the legal proceeding and sentencing process had to be separated from the jailing process, in which the prisoners who did good deeds were more likely to receive remissions.

The regulation stipulates that corrupters and terrorists are entitled to receive remissions after serving one third of their jail terms, and are allowed to lodge an official request to walk out on parole after serving two thirds of their sentence.

Ganjar Lesmono, a Criminal Code expert at University of Indonesia, concurred with Yusril, but said that law enforcers, mainly judges, should impose harsh sentences on corruption and terrorism convicts and that the government should tighten the regulations on granting remission.

“The law could be revised to impose the harshest punishments on terrorists and corruption convicts. They should be given one day each time they get remissions for the celebration of grand religious events and Independence Day, while the jailing process has to be closely monitored to prevent wardens from selling facilities to prisoners in correctional institutions,” he said.

Ganjar referred to the case of businesswoman Artalyta Suryani, who was sentenced to five years for a major corruption case. She received remissions despite living a lavish lifestyle in private quarters during her term at Pondok Bambu Penitentiary.

Former Constitutional Court chief Jimly Assidhiqie said he appreciated the government’s good intentions in pursuing effective sentencing for corruption and terror convicts, but added that the moratorium was an improper policy.

He said the ministry should have tightened the granting of remissions instead.

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