Indonesia court jails senior opposition official over bribery case

Audio By Carbonatix

JAKARTA (Reuters) -An Indonesian court on Friday sentenced a senior politician from the only opposition party in parliament to 3-1/2 years in jail, in a bribery case linked to a parliamentary appointment.

Prosecutors had charged Hasto Kristiyanto, secretary general of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, or PDIP, with bribing an election official with 57,530 Singapore dollars ($44,962) in exchange for a parliamentary seat for a politician he preferred.

In last year’s presidential election, the PDIP had backed a rival to Prabowo Subianto, who won by a landslide.

Hasto was acquitted of another charge, of obstruction of justice, for helping the favoured politician to escape detention and tampering with evidence by submerging phones in water.

“It was proven legally and convincingly that the defendant provided the money … It was proven that he gave money to a government official,” judge Sigit Herman Binaji said.

However, it was not proven that Hasto had obstructed the bribery case by instructing his staff to submerge the phones in water, another judge said, adding that investigations into the matter continued.

“Praise to God that it was unproven for the obstruction of justice charge,” Hasto said at a press conference after the trial.

Hasto’s lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether his client would appeal.

The investigation implicating Hasto began five years ago, during the presidency of Prabowo’s predecessor Joko Widodo, who at the time was a PDIP member.

Widodo severed ties with the party after it backed different candidates in the 2024 election. Some analysts view Widodo’s tacit support for Prabowo, with Widodo’s son running as Prabowo’s vice president, as a key factor delivering Prabowo to high office.

Last week, the same court sentenced Thomas Trikasih Lembong, a former trade minister and vocal government critic, to 4-1/2 years in jail for improperly granting sugar import permits.

($1 = 1.2795 Singapore dollars)

(Reporting by Ananda Teresia; Editing by David Holmes)