Jakarta. Hasto Kristiyanto, secretary-general of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), has filed a second pre-trial motion to challenge his status as a corruption suspect, his attorney said on Sunday.

This move follows a recent judge’s ruling at the South Jakarta District Court to reject Hasto’s first motion, citing procedural errors and insufficient legal grounds.

According to lawyer Ronny Talapessy, the second filing became necessary after the judge indicated that the original motion should have been split into two separate challenges -- one for the corruption allegation and another for an obstruction of justice charge.

“We registered our second petition on Friday after learning that our first attempt was dismissed the previous day,” Ronny said. “The judge argued that we should have filed two separate motions, not one.”

Ronny added that Hasto will not attend a Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) summons scheduled for Monday due to the ongoing legal process.

“Yes, there is a summons for questioning on Monday, but we have requested another delay,” he said.

Hasto is accused of bribing a senior election official in 2019 to secure a seat in the House of Representatives for fellow PDI-P executive Harun Masiku, who was also named a corruption suspect and has since fled justice. Investigators allege Hasto instructed Harun to destroy his cellphone to conceal his whereabouts, leading to the obstruction of justice charge against Hasto.

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