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The National Police will question more Democratic Party officials in connection with a libel suit filed by chairman Anas Urbaningrum against fugitive former treasurer Muhammad Nazaruddin, a lawyer said on Wednesday.

Patra M. Zen, Anas’s lawyer, said Hutomo Agus Subekti and Amal Al Ghazali would be quizzed by the police’s general crimes directorate about the corruption allegations that Nazaruddin, who is himself wanted for graft, made against Anas in several cellphone messages.

“Both of them are going to be questioned as witnesses since they read Nazaruddin’s accusations that he sent to several people through BBM [BlackBerry Messenger],” Patra said.

He added that although the same messages had been sent to news outlets and widely reported, Anas had chosen not to pursue defamation charges or any other form of redress against those media outlets.

“I reiterate that even though there were several media outlets that ran stories based on these slanderous allegations, we are not going to report the media,” he said. “We’re only filing a report against Nazaruddin.”

Police have questioned Anas in connection to the suit, but they sparked accusations of favoritism when it was revealed that they allowed him to be questioned in his hometown of Blitar, East Java, last week, rather than at the National Police headquarters in Jakarta.

Brig. Gen. Agung Sabar Santoso, the director of general crimes, said his office had to gather more evidence and witness testimonies before it could name Nazaruddin a suspect for defamation.

“I have to check with my subordinates about how much progress we’ve made in the case,” he said. “The biggest obstacle in this case, of course, is the fact that Nazaruddin remains at large.”

Under the suit, filed on July 5, Nazaruddin could be charged with two counts of violating the 2008 Information and Electronic Transactions Law. He may face a prison sentence of six years and fines of up to Rp 1 billion ($118,000).