Sekjen PDIP, Hasto Kristiyanto, during a pretrial hearing at the Jakarta Corruption Court on Friday (March 21), claimed that he had received threats of being charged if the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP) dismissed the 7th President of Indonesia, Joko Widodo (Jokowi), from the party due to alleged political interference in a bribery investigation. Jokowi strongly denied Hasto’s statement.
Hasto stated that he had been facing intimidation since August 2023 until the 2024 Regional Elections. He mentioned that the peak of the intimidation occurred when PDIP expelled Jokowi, linking the decision to attempts to pressure him and the party regarding the Harun Masiku case.
Pressure on the investigation process, from the initial inquiry to the case file submission, was highlighted by Hasto. He alleged that a government official’s envoy demanded his resignation as PDIP’s Secretary-General and warned against expelling Jokowi, stating that he would be named a suspect.
The threat reportedly materialized when, on Christmas Eve 2024, following Jokowi’s expulsion, Hasto was declared a suspect. This sequence of events occurred as PDIP’s Central Executive Board (DPP) received reports from the Party’s Ethics Council.
Hasto also mentioned pressures faced by other political parties, where legal mechanisms were allegedly employed as tools of coercion, referring to the use of final court decisions by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) in his case.
Hasto, along with his confidants Donny Tri Istiqomah and Saeful Bahri, stands accused of bribing the former General Election Commission (KPU) commissioner, Wahyu Setiawan, with Rp 600 million. The alleged bribe was intended to facilitate the appointment of Harun Masiku as a member of the House of Representatives for the 2019-2024 period.
Responding to Hasto’s claims, President Jokowi questioned the logic behind the alleged threats, emphasizing that he had calmly accepted his dismissal from PDIP a few months earlier. Jokowi raised doubts about the benefits or motives behind such threats.
Polisi Masih Belum Menemukan Bukti Pengeroyokan dalam Kasus Kematian Mahasiswa UKI