INDEPENDENT TEAM ATTENDS CONSTITUTIONAL COURT HEARING

Jakarta, Nov. 3 (ANTARA) - Members of the newly established independent fact-finding team on the Bibit-Chandra case here on Tuesday attended a Constitutional Court (MK) hearing.

The MK's main agenda was to play a wiretapped tape recording submitted by the KPK said to back its claims of a plot to oust two of the body's deputy chairmen, Chanra M Hamzah and Bibit Samad Rianto, who were now under police arrest.

The KPK allegedly had wiretapped Anggodo Widjaja, the brother of fugitive businessman Anggoro Widjaja. Anggoro has claimed he paid Rp6 billion in bribe money to Chandra, Bibit and other KPK officials in return for not being named as a suspect in a separate bribery case last year.

Chandra and Bibit and their supporters claimed the arrests were part of a plot by figures in the National Police and Attorney General's Office to frame them for corruption and weaken the KPK, which in the past had clashed with both institutions.

The wire-tapped recording played in the court was expected to reveal the alleged conspiracy to frame the two non-active KPK leaders.

The fact-finding team, which was established on Monday, is chaired by by Presidential Advisory Council member Adnan Buyung Nasution with deputy Koesparmono Irsan (former member of the National Human Rights Commission), secretary Denny Indrayana (Presidential special staff for legal affairs) and five team members namely Amir Syamsuddin, a professor at the University of Indonesia's school of law (FHUI), Todung Mulya Lubis (legal practitioner), Anies Baswedan (rector of Paramadina University), Hikmahanto Juwana (a professor at FHUI), and Komaruddin Hidayat (rector of the Jakarta State Islamic University (UIN).

Adnan Buyung Nasution earlier explained that the team would work for two weeks with a target to give recommendation about Bibit and Chandra case to the president.

Members of the legal team of Bibit and Chandra were also present at the MK court.