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Indonesia loses tough antigraft Supreme Court justice
The former justice had passed away after succumbing to cardiovascular and lung disease.
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Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) supervisory council member Artidjo Alkostar, the former Supreme Court justice known for his tough stance on corruption, died on Sunday at the age of 72.
Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Mahfud MD confirmed the news on the same day, saying the former justice had passed away after succumbing to cardiovascular and lung disease. Artidjo was buried on Monday at the cemetery complex of Indonesian Islamic University (UII), his alma mater, in Sleman, Yogyakarta.
“A law-enforcement figure with high integrity has left us,” Mahfud posted under his official Twitter handle @mohmahfudmd on Sunday.
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo took time from his official trip to Yogyakarta on Monday to pay his respects to the late former justice before the burial. The President had gone to Yogyakarta to inaugurate the new Yogyakarta-Surakarta commuter train line and check on the vaccination drive in the city.
“We have lost one of the best sons of this country,” said Jokowi on Monday. “He was a law enforcement [official], Supreme Court justice and KPK supervisory council member that was known for his diligence, honesty and high integrity.”
Born in East Java's Situbondo on May 22, 1948, Artidjo had been a lecturer at UII’s School of Law since his graduation in 1976. Between 1981 and 1989, he worked at the Yogyakarta Legal Aid Institute (LBH Yogyakarta) and served as its chairman from 1983 to 1989.
Artidjo, along with Mahfud, was a visiting scholar at Columbia University in New York between 1990 and 1991. During his time in the United States, he also worked with NGO Human Rights Watch in its Asia division.
His name caught the public’s attention when he served as a Supreme Court justice, a position he held for 18 years until his retirement in 2018. He was known for handing out tough sentences for graft convicts.
In 2013, a court panel led by Artidjo increased former Democratic Party politician Angelina Sondakh’s sentence from 4.5 years to 12 years for her crime in a high-profile bribery case pertaining to the construction of the Hambalang Sports Complex in Bogor, West Java. However, a case review in the Supreme Court in 2015 reduced Angelina’s prison term to 10 years.
Former Dems chairman Anas Urbaningrum was also on the receiving end of Artidjo's no-nonsense stance on graft. Anas was sentenced to 14 years in prison, a higher sentence than the seven years handed down by a lower court, in an appeal trial at the Supreme Court.
After Artidjo retired in 2018, the politician filed for a case review. The justices reduced his prison sentence to eight years of imprisonment.
Artidjo’s retirement proved to be a short one after he was tapped by President Jokowi to become a member of the KPK’s supervisory council in late 2019. The council was established following a revision of the 2002 KPK Law.
Read also: Major blow to antigraft efforts as Supreme Court paves way for more reduced sentences
Supreme Court spokesman Andi Samsan Nganro, who was a permanent member of Artidjo’s panel of justice, said Artidjo was known for his democratic leadership as head of the court’s criminal chamber, a position he held from 2014 to 2018.
“Although Pak Artidjo was a reserved person, he had a friendly personality,” Andi said.
Former and current KPK commissioners spoke fondly of Artidjo’s humble appearance and his tough anticorruption stance.
“He was modest and strict in upholding [his principles], meaning it was difficult to [bribe him] with money,” former deputy KPK chairman Laode Muhammad Syarif said.
He lauded the former justice’s principles when presiding over graft cases at the Supreme Court.
“He made his stance clear that corruptors are the ones who harm the people and deserve to be punished accordingly,” Laode said.
Current KPK deputy chairman Nurul Ghufron said he was inspired by Artidjo’s independence and bravery as a law enforcement official. He added that such integrity was necessary for every law enforcer.
Adnan Topan Husodo, the coordinator of Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW), described Artidjo as “a very rare judge in the history of law enforcement in Indonesia.”
