Thomas Lembong Walks Free, Co-Defendants Still Face Trial
Jakarta. While former Trade Minister Thomas Lembong has received a presidential pardon from President Prabowo Subianto, the nine other defendants in the sugar import corruption case will not receive the same leniency, the State Palace confirmed on Tuesday.
State Secretary Minister Prasetyo Hadi said legal proceedings against the nine businessmen implicated in the same case will proceed as scheduled.
Last month, Thomas was sentenced to 4.5 years in prison for his involvement in raw sugar imports that, according to prosecutors, violated the national import ban and involved collusion with private sector actors for personal gain.
“The presidential pardon applies solely to Thomas Lembong. Trials for the other defendants must continue,” Prasetyo told reporters at the Presidential Palace.
He added that the defense attorney representing the nine businessmen has submitted a formal request for a presidential pardon through the Attorney General’s Office.
“That request will be forwarded to the Justice Ministry for further review,” Prasetyo said.
Hotman Paris Hutapea, the high-profile attorney representing the co-defendants, argued that his clients deserve equal treatment under the law and that it would be unjust for members of the same case to receive dramatically different outcomes.
He said prosecutors must drop the charges against his clients, citing the annulment of the case against Thomas following the presidential pardon.
In a separate move after his release earlier this week, Thomas filed an ethics complaint against the three judges who presided over his trial and reported state auditors -- who had calculated the alleged losses from the sugar imports -- to the national ombudsman.
Thomas is among more than 1,100 convicts granted clemency under President Prabowo’s letter dated July 30.
Another high-profile recipient of the pardon is Hasto Kristiyanto, the former secretary-general of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), who was recently sentenced to 3.5 years in prison for bribing a senior election official to secure a vacant House of Representatives seat for a fellow party member.
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