JAKARTA: An Indonesian court on Friday (Jul 25) sentenced a senior politician from the only opposition party in parliament to 3.5 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 PDI-P, with bribing an election official with S$57,530 (US$44,962) in exchange for a parliamentary seat for a politician he preferred.
In last year’s presidential election, the PDI-P 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.
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