Indonesian Prosecutors Respect Defendant's Right to Second Pre-Trial Hearing

The Indonesian Attorney General's Office has stated it respects the legal rights of Lodewyk Pusung, a suspect in the alleged corruption case involving the government's Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) program. Pusung has again filed a pre-trial motion, this time challenging the forced seizure of assets related to the investigation.

Anang Supriatna, Head of the Legal Information Center at the Attorney General's Office, affirmed that pre-trial motions are a legal right guaranteed by the Indonesian Criminal Procedure Code (KUHAP). "Therefore, please use this right according to the applicable legal mechanism, and later the Prosecutor's Office, as the Respondent, will certainly face it and provide an answer in court," Anang stated on Saturday.

However, Supriatna urged Pusung to understand the new KUHAP, which imposes strict limitations on pre-trial motions. He cited Article 160, Paragraph 3 of Law Number 20 of 2025, which stipulates that motions concerning the legality of forced actions can only be filed once for the same matter. "Because this is called the third pre-trial filing, the Prosecutor's Team will naturally scrutinize the application carefully, especially whether the object, basis, forced action, and the substance being questioned are the same as previous applications," Supriatna explained.

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Because this is called the third pre-trial filing, the Prosecutor's Team will naturally scrutinize the application carefully, especially whether the object, basis, forced action, and the substance being questioned are the same as previous applications.

This will form part of the prosecution's legal arguments in court, addressing issues of judicial authority, legal standing, the object of the pre-trial, and the limitations on filing as stipulated in the new KUHAP. The prosecution maintains that all investigative actions and forced measures taken have been based on sufficient evidence and conducted in accordance with procedural law.

Pusung's current pre-trial motion was registered on Wednesday, August 26, 2026, at the South Jakarta District Court. He seeks to challenge the asset seizure conducted by the Attorney General's Office's specific crimes division. This marks his third pre-trial attempt; previous challenges to his suspect status and asset seizure were dismissed by the Central Jakarta and South Jakarta District Courts, respectively, due to lack of jurisdiction or inadmissibility.

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Therefore, please use this right according to the applicable legal mechanism, and later the Prosecutor's Office, as the Respondent, will certainly face it and provide an answer in court.