MK Rejects Prabowo Camp's Request for Witness Protection

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The panel of judges of the Constitutional Court (MK) rejected a request letter submitted by the legal team of Prabowo - Sandiaga concerning protection for witnesses to be presented in the 2019 presidential election trial.

The Prabowo - Sandiaga legal team head, Bambang Widjojanto, explained the letter noted the consultation result between the team and the Witness and Victim Protection Agency (LPSK), in which stated its readiness to protect the witness if it was ordered by MK.

“The fact is that the witness protection is needed,” said the former deputy head of Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) in MK building, Jakarta, Tuesday, June 18.

However, the panel of judges scrapped the proposal. Justice Suhartoyo reiterated that the court could not grant the request because it lacked a legal basis. The Court had also reviewed the authority of LPSK that the witness protection was only for a criminal case.

“So honestly, the court cannot accept it because there is no legal basis to hand such authority to LPSK,” Suhartoyo asserted.

The Court, he added, assured the safety of witnesses in the courtroom and around MK building. He explained there was a new mechanism that witnesses would be placed in a sterile room and those who have taken an oath would not be allowed to communicate with other parties or witnesses who potentially influenced their independence and testimony.

Meanwhile, Justice I Dewa Gede Palguna added that since 2003 there was no intimidation against a witness for standing in the court.

BUDIARTI UTAMI PUTRI