Ambiguous police charges caused pros-cons : presidential adviser

SBY PRESIDENCY

The president's special adviser for law affairs said here on Saturday that the charges the police had cited for detaining two antigraft (KPK) commissioners were not fixed and this had caused pros and cons.

"So far the police have been uncertain in determining the charges for detaining them and therefore pros and cons emerged in the public," Denny Indrayana said at a discussion.

He said there were questions regarding the police's decision with regard to the development of the case of KPK commissioners Bibit Samad Ryanto and Chandra M Hamzah.

He said when they issued a SPDP letter to start the case proceedings, the police mentioned bribery, attempt to bribe and power abuse as their charges but later they were changed into power abuse and now extortion was also included in it.

"The uncertainty of the charges has created pros and cons among the public," he said.

On the occasion Denny suggested the detention of Anggoro Widjojo and Anggodo Widjojo who were still free so that they would not make a public opinion to make the situation more complicated.

"If Anggoro and Anggodo are also detained and named suspects the situation will be clearer and more transparent," he said.

The transcript of a recording of a tapped phone conversation believed involving Anggodo and several other persons that had circulated and become a polemic tells about plans to engineer a bribery case against Bibit and Chandra.

The deputy coordinator of the Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW), Danang Widoyoko, suspected the police had certain interest with their intention to confiscate the recording.

"They may have a bigger interest namely to cover up some of the content in the recording," he said.

The lawyer of Bibit and Chandra, Alexander Lay, meanwhile has asked the police not to confiscate the recording because it would be used as an evidence to be presented at the Constitutional Court session.

Bibit and Chandra were first detained at the national police headquarters in Kebayoran Baru but they had now been moved the Police Mobile Brigade detention in Kelapa Dua, Depok, West Java.(ANTARA News)