Hasto Receives Amnesty, KPK Chairman: That's the President's Authority

JAKARTA, KOMPAS — The Chairman of the Corruption Eradication Commission or KPK, Setyo Budiyanto, spoke out regarding the granting of amnesty to the Secretary-General of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle or PDI-P, Hasto Kristiyanto. According to him, the granting of amnesty is a prerogative authority of the President as regulated in the constitution.

Setyo conveyed this stance briefly when answering journalists' questions regarding the amnesty issue for Hasto.

"That is the President's authority according to the 1945 Constitution," he said in a written statement, Thursday (31/7/2025) evening.

However, Setyo did not comment specifically on the substance of the case Hasto is facing.

On July 25, the panel of judges at the Jakarta Corruption Court sentenced Hasto to 3.5 years in prison and a fine of IDR 250 million, with a subsidiary of 3 months in confinement. The judge determined that Hasto was proven to be involved in the provision of funds amounting to IDR 400 million intended to bribe KPU Commissioner Wahyu Setiawan. The bribe aimed to facilitate Harun Masiku's ascension to become a member of the DPR through the mechanism of interim replacement (PAW).

Separately, KPK Spokesperson Budi Prasetyo stated that the KPK has not taken an official stance and will further study the information regarding the amnesty proposal.

Budi also emphasized that the legal process involving Hasto at the KPK is still ongoing. "We will first study that information. Meanwhile, the legal process is still in progress, including the appeal process," said Budi.

That is the President's authority according to the 1945 Constitution.

This means that the KPK will continue to handle the case in accordance with the applicable procedures, regardless of any political or legal discourse outside the institution. With the existence of an appeal process, it indicates that the legal status of the case has not yet become final or legally binding.

Legally, the President's authority to grant amnesty is regulated in Article 14 Paragraph (2) of the 1945 Constitution. This article states, "The President grants amnesty and abolition with regard to the considerations of the People's Representative Council."

The granting of amnesty for Hasto Kristiyanto was conveyed by the Deputy Speaker of the DPR from the Gerindra Party faction, Sufmi Dasco Ahmad, following a consultation meeting between the DPR leadership and the government at the DPR Building in Jakarta on Thursday evening. Present from the government were Minister of Law Supratman Andi Agtas and Minister of State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi.

In a press conference, Dasco explained that the DPR has approved President Prabowo Subianto's request for Hasto and 1,115 other convicts to be granted amnesty.

Other convicted individuals referred to include those convicted of insulting the president, unarmed treason, cases related to politics, as well as elderly prisoners and individuals with mental health issues.

In addition, the DPR approved the granting of amnesty to Tom Lembong, who was sentenced to 4.5 years in prison on July 18 in a sugar import case while serving as Minister of Trade during the period of 2015-2016, by the panel of judges of the Jakarta Corruption Court.

Before being presented by President Prabowo to the DPR, according to Supratman, the proposal for abolition and amnesty for Tom and Hasto was submitted by the Ministry of Law to Prabowo. Supratman stated that the considerations regarding the granting of abolition and amnesty were for the interests of the nation and the integrity of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia.

However, he dismissed the granting of abolition and amnesty due to President Prabowo's response to the public dynamics surrounding these two cases. The public debate regarding the irregularities of Tom Lembong, who is considered to lack mens rea (criminal intent), and Hasto, who is said to be entangled in legal issues for political reasons.

"This is purely a legal consideration. It is for the interests of the nation and the state. The focus is on the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia. Secondly, it is to weave a sense of brotherhood among all the nation's children," said Supratman.

"We submitted that to the President, of course considering the subjective considerations that I mentioned, that the individual in question has achievements and contributions to the Republic," he continued.