Indonesia’s deputy law and human rights minister has apologised to the legal profession after a Twitter message in which he likened lawyers who defend those accused of corruption with corruption itself, reports Global Legal Post.
In a statement, Denny Indrayana said: ‘I apologise to any clean lawyers who do their jobs in accordance with existing law and regulations, and uphold the code of ethics.’ The deputy minister added that he hoped the public would still support him in his fight against corruption, reports The Jakarta Post.
In the offending tweet, Mr Denny – in his account @dennyindrayana — wrote: ‘Lawyers of corruptors are corruptors, the ones who defend blindly and those who shamelessly accept payments from criminals.’

Public discourse
Former justice minister and high-profile lawyer Yusril Ihza Mahendra commented on Mr Denny’s statement through his own Twitter account @Yusrilihza_Mhd, saying: ‘Lawyers who defend corruptors are corruptors. Judges who free corruptors are corruptors. A president who grants clemency to corruptors is a corruptor. Great!’
Meanwhile, Mr Denny’s boss, law and human rights minister Amir Syamsuddin, was not overly critical of his underling. ‘What Mr Denny said was part of a discourse; if people don’t agree with his statement, they have to reply to it with other discourse,’ he said, adding that the case was too petty to merit legal action.