23 Graft Convicts Released on Parole; Activists Blame Law on Corrections
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9 September 2022 10:21 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) researcher Lalola Ester assessed that the Law on Corrections which was enacted on August 3, 2022, played a role in the parole release of 23 graft convicts. The parole requirements in the law, she said, are general and easily met by corruptors.
She explained that the parole rules were previously contained in Government Regulation (PP) No. 99 of 2012, which requires convicted corruptors to become justice collaborators. However, this PP had been revoked by the Constitutional Court.
Meanwhile, Article 10 of the Corrections Law states that parole can be granted if convicts fulfill conditions such as good behavior and actively participating in the correctional program.
“The Corrections Law does not mention that corrupt convicts must become justice collaborators,” said Lalola on Thursday, September 8, 2022.
Boyamin Saiman, Coordinator of the Indonesian Anti-Corruption Society (MAKI), also believed that a restriction on corruptors to get a reduced sentence is necessary. The absence of this rule, he said, made corruption an ordinary crime.
“Meanwhile, in other extraordinary crimes, such as drugs and terrorism, there are parole restrictions,” he said on Thursday, September 8, 2022.
He suggested that the punishment for corruptors must be at least 15 years. To date, the sentences for convicted corruptors only range from 1.5 to 5 years. In addition, the right to parole must be revoked. This could start from the Public Prosecutor, both the Attorney General's Office and the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK).
As widely reported, 23 graft convicts were released on parole granted by the Corrections Directorate General of Law and Human Rights Ministry. Among them are former Banten governor Ratu Atut Chosiyah, former prosecutor Pinangki Sirna Malasari, and Atut's brother, Tubagus Chaery Wardana alias Wawan.
IMA DINI SHAFIRA
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