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nti-corruption activists and the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) praised on Tuesday a recent Supreme Court decision revoking the political rights of bribery convict, and former Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) chairman, Luthfi Hasan Ishaaq.

The appellate court panel '€” consisting of presiding judge Artidjo Alkostar, M. Askin and MS Lumme '€” unanimously decided on Monday that Luthfi could not be appointed a public official, a lawmaker or hold any party leadership in the future, the Supreme Court told a press conference on Tuesday.

Luthfi, who was the first political party chief to be arrested by the KPK in a graft case, was the second graft convict to be stripped of his political rights after former National Traffic Police Corps (Korlantas) chief Insp. Gen. Djoko Susilo received a similar ruling late last year.

However, those verdicts were issued by either the Supreme Court'€™s cassation panel or the High Court'€™s appellate panel, not by the Jakarta Corruption Court, even though it has heard a number of graft cases in which KPK prosecutors have demanded it revoke corruption convicts'€™ political rights.

'€œNot only will it punish Luthfi, but it can also send a message to other politicians not to get involved in corruption,'€ Emerson Yuntho from Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) said on Tuesday.

'€œICW also calls for the revoking of the right to parole and remission for corruption convicts,'€ he said.

The Supreme Court also increased Luthfi'€™s sentence for bribery in a meat-import graft case from 16 years'€™ imprisonment to 18 years, and also ordered him to pay Rp 1 billion (US$83,600) in fines.

'€œThis is a fundamental benchmark for the fight against corruption amid massive political graft. It sets an example for other judges to deter corruptors,'€ Erwin Natosmal Oemar from the Indonesian Legal Roundtable said.

Bambang Widjojanto, a deputy chairman at the KPK, said the sentence could indeed be a benchmark for other courts to follow. '€œPublic officials often misuse their power to secure their interests or the interests of their groups. [Therefore] combining legal penalties and political sanctions could deter them,'€ he said.

KPK prosecutors have asked the corruption court to strip several graft convicts '€” for example, suspended Banten governor Ratu Atut Chosiyah and former Constitutional Court chief justice Akil Mochtar '€” of their political rights, but to no avail.

Former Democratic Party chairman Anas Urbaningrum is also currently facing a similar sentence demand by the KPK.

Supreme Court spokesman Ridwan Mansyur told the press conference that the crime committed by Luthfi was a '€œparody of democracy'€.

'€œThey considered all aspects, including that he had hurt people who were the victims of his crime. They also considered the seriousness of the crime,'€ he added.

In his consideration, justice Artidjo said Luthfi deserved the longer prison term as he had betrayed the public'€™s trust by accepting bribe money while serving as a lawmaker.

In 2013, the Jakarta Corruption Court sentenced Luthfi to 16 years in prison and ordered him to pay Rp 1 billion in fines for graft and money laundering, less than the 18-year sentence and Rp 1.5 billion in fines sought by KPK prosecutors.

 The Jakarta High Court upheld the 16-year jail sentence and Rp 1 billion in fines later in the same year.

Luthfi was found guilty of accepting bribes from meat-importing company PT Indoguna Utama in exchange for persuading party colleague Suswono, the then agriculture minister, to increase the company'€™s beef import quota.

A PKS official, Mardani Ali, said the party would abide by the verdict.

Ali was quoted by Kompas.com as saying '€œthe Supreme Court'€™s verdict is part of the law-enforcement system. Therefore, we have no option but to honor it'€.