TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) urged the panel of judges to deliver a life sentence against the former Minister of Social Affairs, Juliari Batubara. Today, August 23, Juliari was scheduled to undergo a verdict hearing in the Covid-19 social assistance graft case.

ICW researcher, Kurnia Ramadhan, disclosed four arguments for the request. “First, Juliari committed a crime while serving as a public official,” said Kurnia in a statement on Monday, August 23.

He argued that based on Article 52 of the Criminal Code, Juliari's sentence should be increased. The second reason is that the social aid graft practice was carried out in the midst of the pandemic. “It shows that corruption committed by Juliari caused significant impacts, both in terms of economy and health, for the community,” Kurnia said.

The third is, until the reading of the statement of defense, Juliari did not admit his actions while the other two suspects from the private party, Ardian and Harry, have been legally proven to have bribed Juliari.

Kurnia went on to explain that Juliari's severe sentence will give a strong message to other public officials not to practice corruption in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic.

He also reminded the panel of judges of Article 5 of the Law on Judicial Power which notes that judges must consider the sense of justice in society. Thus, justice for victims of social aid corruption must be the main consideration before handing down the verdict.

Kurnia further argued that a life sentence was not enough for Juliari Batubara. Therefore, ICW asked the panel of judges to deliver other sentences, such as fines and compensation, as well as revocation of political rights for 5 years.

Read: Ex-minister in Major Graft Case Apologizes to Jokowi, Megawati

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