Mobile UPI  |   About UPI  |   UPI en Español  |   UPI Arabic  |   UPIU  |   My Account
Search:
Go

Indonesia: Drop charges against watchdogs

|
|
 
  
(L-R) Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, U.S. President Barack Obama, Singapore Lee Hsien Loong and Chinese President Hu Jintao pose for a group photo after an official dinner for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders Summit in Singapore on November 14, 2009. UPI/Alex Volgin 
Published: Nov. 17, 2009 at 3:34 PM

JAKARTA, Nov. 17 (UPI) -- Charges against two Indonesian anti-corruption officials should be dropped, a presidential inquiry has recommended.

The inquiry, set up by Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, found that extortion and abuse of power charges against the men -- former members of the country's popular anti-corruption watchdog, the KPK -- should be dismissed, the BBC reported Tuesday.

The broadcaster said the result was expected after the charges against the men, Bibit Samad Rianto and Chandra Hamzah, produced a public outcry, with nearly daily street protests in support of the pair.

The protests led to their release and accusations of injustice against Indonesian police, who are seen as persecuting anti-corruption watchdogs, the BBC said.

The recommendation reportedly puts Yudhoyono under increasing pressure to come up with a solution to the problem.

Topics: Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
Recommended Stories
© 2009 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Any reproduction, republication, redistribution and/or modification of any UPI content is expressly prohibited without UPI's prior written consent.

Order reprints
  
Join the conversation
Most Popular Collections
The Tibetan Moniam Festival in China Super Bowl XLVI ticker tape victory parade The making of the Oscars
The Chicago Auto Show The Most Desirable Women of 2012 Tu Bishvat Migron settlement
Additional World News Stories
1 of 21
President Obama Signs Smuggling Prevention Act at White House
View Caption
fark
French roadbuilders find 21 German WWI soldiers...and 1 goat
Photoshop this crazy old coot in the cold
Anonymous ends the week by bringing down the CIA webpage. *golf clap*
You can lead a horse to a hyperbaric chamber, but you can't make him not blow up
Man breaks into home, then vacuums and folds laundry (possibly with a menacing scowl on his face)...
It's starting to look as if the roles are now reversed - that Obama is Lucy with the football, and...