Hasto Kristiyanto Case, PDI-P Accuses Criminalization and Political Operations

The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, or PDI-P, has accused a political operation in the legal case involving PDI-P Secretary General Hasto Kristiyanto. The party, led by Megawati Soekarnoputri, even views the process of naming Hasto as a suspect by the Corruption Eradication Commission as being laden with criminalization.

Hasto is entangled in a bribery case involving the management of 2019-2024 DPR members for interim replacements, as well as obstruction of investigation, which also implicates Harun Masiku. On Friday (14/3/2025), Hasto will undergo his first trial at the Corruption Court (Tipikor).

The Chairperson of the National Legal System Reform Division of PDI-P, Ronny Talapessy, during a press conference at the PDI-P Central Office in Jakarta on Wednesday (12/3/2025), stated that PDI-P fully supports Hasto Kristiyanto in facing the legal process at the KPK and the trial proceedings starting on March 14, 2025. For PDI-P, the ongoing legal process is part of the political struggle to uphold the constitution and democracy in Indonesia.

"We believe that the ongoing process is a form of hijacking the functions of law enforcement for political interests, or even political revenge, against the political stance of PDI-Perjuangan in enforcing internal regulations, which resulted in the dismissal of several party cadres," he said.

According to Ronny, this conviction is not without basis. His party has uncovered several fundamental violations of human rights in Hasto's case. Moreover, PDI-P has also found evidence of a forced legal process, manipulation of procedural law, and other legal violations.

"This is a political operation against PDI-P and legal criminalization of Hasto Kristiyanto. Some parties even resort to using survey institutions to shape public opinion," said Ronny.

The political operation and criminalization, said Ronny, were evident, among other things, in the demonstrations by unidentified community groups when Hasto was named a suspect and when the Secretary-General of PDI-P was detained by the KPK. Furthermore, there was widespread installation of banners with writings attacking PDI-P. There were also fabricated lawsuits challenging the party's leadership under the guise of PDI-P cadres.

PDI-P considers these actions to have harmed the ideals of law enforcement, especially the eradication of corruption. The practice is considered as a hijacking of law enforcement institutions. "We choose to fight against these bad practices of hijacking law enforcement institutions. Because we believe, this is part of the struggle for democracy that is in line with the party's values," said Ronny.

PDI-P DPP Chairman Deddy Yevri Sitorus added that Hasto Kristiyanto was a victim of the arbitrariness of law enforcement institutions, especially individuals at the KPK. He believes that the case that dragged Hasto is a politicization of the law.

"The case of Mas Hasto is clearly a case of politicization of law, evil criminalization and that is why we as a party, both the DPP and the faction, will jointly fight against this arbitrariness," he said.

According to Deddy, this was not without reason. He revealed that on December 14, there was a request for Hasto to resign from the position of Secretary General of PDI-P. The request was conveyed by someone who was authorized as an envoy to deliver a message to the PDI-P leadership.

Mas Hasto's case is clearly a case of politicization of the law, evil criminalization and that is why we as a party, both the DPP and the faction, will jointly fight against this arbitrariness.

Not only that, according to Deddy, the envoy also asked the PDI-P not to dismiss Joko Widodo, the 7th President of the Republic of Indonesia, from the PDI-P. The envoy also advised that there were around nine PDI-P cadres who were targeted by the Police and the KPK.

"That is also our belief that this whole issue is an issue based on bad faith, arbitrariness," he said.

Regarding the accusation, KPK Chairman Setyo Budiyanto has emphasized several times that Hasto's detention is not a form of politicization of the law. The KPK is purely enforcing the law. So far, the KPK has examined and asked for information from 53 witnesses and six experts and conducted searches in several locations. The KPK also confiscated documents, electronic evidence, and other items. (Kompas.id, 20/2/2025).

Hasto has also filed a pretrial motion twice. In Hasto's pretrial motion "volume one" it was not accepted by the judge because it was considered unclear which suspect status was being sued.

Regarding the “first volume” pretrial ruling, Setyo Budiyanto said that the judge’s ruling showed that the KPK investigators had worked in accordance with the applicable rules and regulations. There was no legal corridor violated by the investigators as stated in the KPK legal team’s argument.

"The judge's decision is proportional and appropriate as considered from the arguments and arguments submitted by the KPK legal team," he said.

Hasto also filed a second pretrial motion through two applications for each case that named him a suspect. However, Hasto Kristiyanto's pretrial motion regarding the suspect status of the 2019-2024 DPR member management bribery case has been declared dismissed. Meanwhile, the pretrial motion regarding the suspect for obstruction of investigation will be held on Friday (14/3/2025).