In his rebuttal, Hasto said the prosecutor's accusations were based on legal fabrication.

JAKARTA, KOMPAS — Defendant Hasto Kristiyanto presented a rebuttal argument to the prosecutors from the KPK during the continuation of the trial at the Jakarta Corruption Court, Friday (18/7/2025). The Secretary General of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle referred to all the charges and demands directed at him as being built on a foundation of legal engineering by the investigators.

This was stated by Hasto during the duplicate agenda hearing or his final response to the prosecutor's rebuttal in the case of the alleged bribery and obstruction of the investigation involving Harun Masiku. He read from a document consisting of 48 pages that had been prepared. The hearing was presided over by Chief Judge Rios Rahmanto.

In front of the panel of judges, Hasto systematically outlined what he referred to as an attempt to smuggle facts and manipulate witness statements into the minutes of the examination (BAP). The documents that form the backbone of the prosecutor's indictment do not reflect the actual facts that occurred during the trial.

"This act of criminalization cannot be justified, and therefore, the charges and demands related to the availability of bailout funds from Hasto Kristiyanto, as well as the approval of those operational funds, should be considered for dismissal in the interest of justice," he stated.

Specifically, Hasto pointed to the report prepared by KPK investigator Arief Budi Rahardjo as the main source of the fabrication. One of the most highlighted manipulations is the emergence of a sentence stating that Hasto was willing to cover the funds for Harun Masiku.

According to the PDI-P politician, he never uttered that statement and referred to it purely as "the creation of Mr. Arief Budi Rahardjo." He also stated that there is not a single witness who can prove his statement.

This criminalization cannot be justified, and therefore, the charges and demands related to the availability of bailout funds from Hasto Kristiyanto, as well as the approval of those operational funds, should be considered for dismissal in the interest of justice.

Furthermore, Hasto accused the existence of changes in the testimony of key witness Saeful Bahri, which he alleged were orchestrated by the investigators. He compared Saeful Bahri's statement on February 25, 2025, with the statement from January 21, 2020, as well as the court ruling that has become legally binding.

In the latest investigation report, he continued, the investigators inserted the key phrase "originating from Hasto Kristiyanto" while explaining the source of the 400 million rupiah. However, that phrase had never appeared before.

"This conflict reflects an inconsistency that has the potential to give rise to legal doubts, which ultimately contradicts the principle of legal certainty," he said.

On the other hand, the presence of KPK investigators as factual witnesses in this trial was a strategy to legitimize testimony he claimed had been manipulated. As a result, he dismissed the entire case construction alleging his involvement in bribery as testimony based solely on "hearing from others," or "testimonium de auditu."

Therefore, he considered all evidence arising from the process to be invalid and must be set aside by the panel of judges.

In addition to questioning the validity of the evidence and the investigation process, Hasto also mentioned the existence of Harun Masiku, who is still at large. He firmly rejected the notion that the failure to apprehend Harun Masiku up to this point is attributed to his fault.

According to Hasto, the responsibility for the failure to apprehend Harun Masiku should rest entirely on the shoulders of the KPK. In his rebuttal, he even cited a statement indicating that the KPK leadership and investigator Arief Budi Rahardjo were actually aware of Harun Masiku's location, yet the arrest was not carried out.

"The failure to locate Harun Masiku until now cannot be attributed as a fault of the defendant. The leadership of the KPK and the statement from Mr. Arief Budi Rahardjo that the whereabouts of Harun Masiku are already known but he has not been apprehended is the full responsibility of the KPK," said Hasto.

He positioned himself as the party that wants Harun Masiku to be found immediately. Hasto claimed that during this trial, he requested that the KPK promptly apprehend Harun Masiku in order to create a legal process that is fair and just for all parties involved.

The trial, which began at around 9:00 a.m., was temporarily suspended and will resume Friday afternoon.