Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto has granted pardons to two high-profile political figures convicted of corruption-related offences, a move swiftly approved by parliament and framed by his administration as an effort to promote national unity.
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But the decision has drawn scrutiny as both men were seen as political opponents of Prabowo’s coalition during last year’s election, with critics arguing it risks politicising the pardon process and undermining judicial independence in the world’s third-largest democracy.
The pardons, a constitutional prerogative of the president, include one for former trade minister Thomas Trikasih Lembong – now a prominent government critic – who was sentenced to 4½ years in jail and fined 750 million rupiah (US$46,000) last month over a corruption case involving sugar import policies from 2015 to 2016.
Prabowo also granted clemency to Hasto Kristiyanto, a secretary general at the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) who was sentenced to 3½ years in jail last month for abetting bribery. PDI-P was the winner of last year’s legislative election and the only political party excluded from Prabowo’s massive coalition, which boasts 81 per cent of the seats in parliament.
Lembong’s pardon removes his case, including his sentences, from public records, whereas the terms of Hasto’s pardon eliminate his punishment. The House of Representatives approved Prabowo’s clemency plan on July 31, just a day after he filed the request.
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