Former Indonesian charter court chief gets life in jail
The Jakarta Corruption Court handed down a historic ruling on Monday evening by sentencing 53-year-old former Constitutional Court chief justice Akil Mochtar to life imprisonment, the most severe in the court's history.
The former Golkar Party politician, who showed no sign of remorse for his wrongdoings, was found guilty of accepting 57 billion rupiah (US$4.7 million) in bribes from a number of regional heads to influence decisions on election disputes during his tenure in the court.
The life term marks the first time the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has successfully convinced the court to sentence a defendant facing graft or money-laundering charges to life in prison since its establishment in 2003.
Judges at the Jakarta Corruption Court found that Akil, a former member of the House of Representatives, had laundered 160 billion rupiah during his term in the court and 20 billion rupiah when he was serving as a House representative.
“Our examination has found the defendant guilty of corruption”, presiding judge Suwidya said as he read the verdict at the court on Monday night.
During the approximately eight hours it took to read the verdict, Akil, who had frequently displayed a degree of arrogance during his almost four-month trial, listened impassively to the judges’ explanation of their verdict, occasionally closing his eyes. However, he appeared somewhat taken aback after hearing the judge say the words “life sentence”.
If Akil accepts the verdict, or if a higher court upholds his life sentence should he appeal against the verdict, he will spend the remainder of his life behind bars.
Suwidya said KPK prosecutors’ demand for Akil to be stripped of his political rights and reimburse the state with 10 billion rupiah would not apply as the former chief justice would spend the rest of his life in jail should the verdict later be found to be legal and binding.
Responding to the verdict and sentence, Akil said that he would appeal.
KPK deputy chairman Bambang Widjojanto said Akil’s conviction was a strong impetus for the anti-graft body to charge regional heads who used a number of go-betweens, varying from businessmen to lawyers, to bribe Akil.
“We will study the verdict in the first place then we will make moves to charge the bribe payers,” Bambang told The Jakarta Post on Monday.
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