Rahmat Hidayat – Indonesia's Attorney General's Office is facing growing scrutiny after former Deputy Attorney General for Special Crimes Febrie Adriansyah was not immediately detained following his designation as a suspect in a corruption investigation, prompting criticism from a legal scholar who said the decision risks undermining public confidence in equal law enforcement.
The Attorney General's Office said the decision not to detain Febrie was based on procedural considerations, noting that he had only recently undergone his first examination as a suspect after the case was transferred from the Indonesian National Police's Corruption Crime Corps.
"Not yet, because he has only been questioned once. The decision rests with the investigators," Attorney General's Office spokesperson Anang Supriatna told reporters in Jakarta on Saturday, July 18.
Febrie has been named a suspect in connection with an alleged corruption case involving Indonesian state insurer PT Asabri, which also includes allegations of money laundering.
Authorities are also investigating his alleged involvement in separate cases related to coal procurement at state electricity company PT PLN and debt settlement involving a subsidiary of state-owned steel producer PT Krakatau Steel.
Those investigations remain under police authority and have not yet been transferred to prosecutors.
The Attorney General's Office's decision has drawn criticism from Abdul Fickar Hadjar, a legal expert at Trisakti University, who argued there are sufficient legal grounds for investigators to place Febrie in pretrial detention.
"This is an unfair decision and creates the impression of selective law enforcement because other suspects connected to the same alleged conduct have already been detained, while Febrie has not," Fickar said in remarks published Monday.
He added that Febrie's status as a former senior law enforcement official should strengthen, rather than weaken, the justification for detention.
Fickar said investigators should also consider potential risks associated with allowing a suspect to remain free during an active investigation.
According to him, detention could be justified under Indonesian criminal procedure if investigators believe there is a possibility that a suspect could destroy evidence, influence witnesses, or otherwise interfere with the legal process.
"There are sufficient objective and subjective legal grounds to justify detention," he said.
Fickar nevertheless acknowledged that decisions regarding detention remain entirely within the authority of investigators at the Attorney General's Office.
"Although the authority to order detention belongs to the Attorney General's Office, whether that authority is exercised depends on the investigators handling the case," he said.
The Attorney General's Office has not announced whether Febrie will be detained in future proceedings.
The corruption investigations remain ongoing, and no court has ruled on the allegations against Febrie. Under Indonesian law, a suspect is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a final and binding court decision.