Bekasi, West Java (ANTARA) - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) stated on Thursday that he respected the decision of the Supreme Court (Mahkamah Agung/MA) to grant Ferdy Sambo's cassation appeal, resulting in a sentence of life imprisonment.
Previously, Sambo had been sentenced to death for the premeditated murder of Yosua Hutabarat.
"I respect the Supreme Court's decision. We must all respect it," Jokowi emphasized after inspecting the Jatimulya LRT Station in Bekasi, West Java.
He urged the public to show respect for MA's decision as well.
On a previous occasion, the Coordinating Minister for Politics, Law, and Security, Mahfud MD, stated that MA's decision on Sambo's cassation request was final.
"In my opinion, all considerations are complete, and the cassation is final," he noted in Sleman, Yogyakarta, on August 9.
He emphasized that no other legal remedies could be pursued by the prosecutor's office or the government following MA's decision to change Sambo's sentence from the death penalty to life imprisonment.
Mahfud explained that Peninjauan Kembali (PK) --an extraordinary legal recourse-- could not be initiated by the prosecutor or the government concerning the criminal law and the cassation that was decided.
PK can only be submitted by the convict by attaching evidence that has not been previously presented at trial, he remarked.
In line with this, the Head of the Legal and Public Relations Bureau of the Indonesian Supreme Court, Sobandi, affirmed that the decision by MA has legal binding.
As a result, the life imprisonment sentence against the former head of the Professional and Security Division of the National Police now has permanent legal force.
Earlier, MA commuted Sambo's death sentence to life imprisonment.
The decision was made during a closed session attended by Suhadi as the chairman of the assembly, Suharto as member of assembly 1, Jupriyadi as member of assembly 2, Desnayeti as member of assembly 3, and Yohanes Priyana as member of assembly 4.
Ferdy Sambo is a former Indonesian police general who was the head of the police's professional and security division. He is known for being involved in the murder of his aide-de-camp, Brigadier Nofriansyah Yosua Hutabarat, on July 8, 2022.
