Palace Warns Against Linking Prosecutor's Case to President Prabowo

Indonesia's Ministry of State Secretary has responded to statements made by lawyer Hotman Paris Hutapea, who claimed that his client, former high-ranking prosecutor Febrie Adriansyah, was a source of pride for President Prabowo Subianto. The ministry emphasized that the government is leaving the case entirely to the legal process and urged that no one should link it to the President. "Please do not link it to the President either. We are fully returning it to the prevailing legal mechanism," said Minister of State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi, also known as Pras, after a meeting at Commission V of the House of Representatives on Monday (20/7). Pras also asserted that law enforcement officials do not need to seek the President's permission to process a legal case. He reiterated that the government wants Febrie's case to be processed according to the law. Hotman had previously described the case ensnaring Febrie as a form of criminalization and expressed his dismay at Febrie's current situation. He argued that during his tenure as Jampidsus, Febrie was an accomplished figure, a source of pride for President Prabowo, for successfully recovering a substantial amount of state assets. "The Jampidsus is someone President Prabowo was proud of. He managed to recover state losses of IDR 130 trillion, plus IDR 300 trillion from the PKH Task Force. A total of IDR 430 trillion returned to the state. Imagine, someone who was the President's pride suddenly criminalized without informing the President," he said. However, this statement drew criticism from several parties. Chairman of the Gerindra Party's DPP, Bambang Haryadi, asserted that the President, who is also the party's chairman, has never intervened in the legal process. The Secretary of the Gerindra Party Faction in the House stated that Prabowo has never played favorites in law enforcement, including for party cadres. "Gerindra regrets Hotman Paris's statement linking the former Jampidsus case with President Prabowo. This is completely untrue and contradicts President Prabowo's commitment to eradicating corruption," Bambang said when contacted on Sunday (19/7). Information Source: CNN Indonesia