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The Judicial Commission revealed on Wednesday that there were “indications of misconduct” by district court judges who sentenced former antigraft chief Antasari Azhar to 18 years in jail for murder.

Erman Suparman, head of the commission, declined to elaborate on the details of the case, only saying that the South Jakarta District Court judges who presided over the 2010 murder trial would be questioned.

“We don’t want to get this wrong,” he said. “When everything is complete and clear, we will question them.”

Separately, Asep Rahmat Fajar, a spokesman for the commission, said there were “preliminary conclusions that the judges potentially violated their professionalism by neglecting strong evidence.”

The district court judges may have also overlooked testimony from ballistics and information technology experts, he said.

Asep said the IT experts had provided data related to text messages sent by Antasari, former chief of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK).

He added that the Judicial Commission, which monitors the conduct of judges, had also found “indications of violations” by judges in the Jakarta High Court and Supreme Court, which handled subsequent appeals filed by the defense.

Both courts upheld the district court’s ruling against Antasari.

Asep added that the commission would “seek clarification” from witnesses and lawyers involved in the trial on this matter.

Hatta Ali, a spokesman for the Supreme Court, said the Judicial Commission’s announcement came as a disappointment.

“When it comes to the law — including its implementation, technicalities and how judges evaluate the evidence — that is in the hands of the independent judges,” he said on Wednesday.

“Whether the judges considered certain evidence or dismissed others is fully within their right,” he added.

Hatta said that if the Judicial Commission wanted to reopen the Antasari case, it should follow standard procedures. “The commission should use legal channels by filing for a case review with the Supreme Court,” he said.

However, only the defendant — Antasari — is entitled to file for such a review.

In February last year, the Judicial Commission said it would review the district court judges’ verdict to determine whether the code of ethics was applied, shortly after Antasari was convicted for ordering the murder of businessman Nasrudin Zulkarnaen.

The commission said the verdict, which sparked controversy at the time, had affected the judges’ credibility.

During the trial, prosecutors alleged Antasari had an affair with the victim’s wife and had Nasrudin killed when they were found out.

However, Antasari and his supporters have long slammed the case as trumped-up, insisting he was framed by those seeking to undermine the KPK.

Aside from Antasari, three other defendants were convicted in the same case for helping arrange the murder.

Businessman Sigid Haryo Wibisono was sentenced to 15 years in jail for financing the murder, while policeman Wiliardi Wizar was sentenced to 12 years for recruiting the hitmen.

Middleman Jerry Hermawan Lo received five years for introducing Wiliardi to the assassins.