"[The court] declares that Mohammad Romahurmuziy has been officially and convincingly proven to be guilty of the crime of corruption," head judge Fazal Hendri said at the Jakarta Corruption Court in Central Jakarta on Monday. 

The sentence was half of the four years demanded by prosecutors last week. The judges also decided not to strip Romy of his political rights, in contrast to the prosecutors’ demands.

Fazal said the judges' decided to defer to a 2019 Constitutional Court ruling that stated that former convicts could run for elected office five years after they had served their sentence.

"The panel of judges agree with the Constitutional Court's ruling so we will not impose the additional punishment of revoking [Romy's] political rights," he said.

Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) investigators arrested Romy in March 2019 for allegedly accepting Rp 416.4 million (US$30,500) in bribes to influence then Religious Affairs Minister Lukman Hakim, a PPP member, to promote two ministry officials.

The two officials, Haris Hasanuddin and Muafaq Wirahadi, were both previously found guilty of bribery and sentenced to two years and one-and-a-half years in prison, respectively.

Popular

Reform era draws to a close

Essay competition: ‘Rethinking work: Driving sustainable growth in the digital age’

A Fold in Time: Southeast Asia's women artists explore identity, history