Founder of Asian super-app Gojek sentenced to 10 years in jail for corruption

An Indonesian court has sentenced a former education minister who was the co-founder of super-app Gojek to 10 years in jail.

Nadiem Makarim, 41, was accused of manipulating a school laptop procurement deal to enrich himself, leading to $125m (£94m) in state losses, say prosecutors. He has pleaded not guilty.

Nadiem left Gojek in 2019 to join the government of then President Joko Widodo, and served as education minister until 2024.

Critics of the Indonesian authorities say the case against him was based on little evidence and that he is the victim of a government campaign targeting political opponents.

Supporters outside the court house booed as the verdict was read out on Tuesday.

Nadiem had told the court earlier this month that he sacrificed a lot to serve in government and "the reward I received was iron bars".

The case centres on the education ministry's procurement of Chromebook laptops for schools in Indonesia from 2021 to 2022.

Prosecutors allege that Nadiem favoured Google - a Gojek investor - when the procurement was made, saying he created tender specifications that only fit the Chrome system to "make Google the sole controller of the education ecosystem in Indonesia".

They claim he personally gained some $46.3m by doing this.

Nadiem has denied the charges, arguing that the ministry's choice of purchasing the Chromebooks resulted in reduced costs for the government.

He has also denied that Google's investments in Gojek were connected to the procurement.

In a hearing earlier in May, prosecutors said Nadiem's actions violated the government's anti-corruption pledges and harmed the education system.

They argued that the Chromebooks were purchased even though the ministry had determined in 2018 that the computers required an internet connection to be used, which made them unsuitable in remote areas of Indonesia where internet connectivity is difficult.

The ministry went ahead with the purchase after Nadiem met with Google representatives in 2020, said prosecutors.

Dozens of supporters including Gojek drivers turned up at the Jakarta courthouse on Tuesday. They carried white banners with the words "We are with Nadiem" and "Free Nadiem".

Nadiem shook hands and greeted supporters, and was visibly overcome with emotion as a Gojek driver hugged him.

He also gave a statement to the media where he reiterated his innocence, before walking hand-in-hand with his wife, Franka Makarim, to the courtroom.

"It's been difficult for almost 10 months. As a family, we have continued to pray, fight, and stand by him throughout this time," Nadiem's mother-in-law, Sania Makki, told BBC News.

Dozens of supporters - many drivers wearing Gojek jackets - sat in a nearby room where the trial was being streamed.

Some analysts have questioned the case against Nadiem.

"The eradication of corruption is being used to attack those who are not liked, or those who are critical of people in power," lawyer and activist Todung Mulya Lubis told BBC News.

Observers also say a guilty verdict could risk disillusioning young Indonesians who want to pursue a career in government.

"There's a feeling of fear. It's like, so if someone that's from outside of the government tries to work with the government or tries to do good in their own field in this country, am I going to get criminalised?" artist and political activist Andovi da Lopez told BBC News.

"I can't speak for everybody, but in my circle, there's this fear and people just say, 'just don't work with the government, just don't.' And that fear is real," he said.

To young Indonesians, Nadiem is seen as someone who "wants to bring change but is trapped in a government system that has systemic problems," said Usman Hamid, executive director of Amnesty International Indonesia.

"Maybe [Nadiem] was perceived as forcing [the government] to innovate policies, and maybe he wanted to do it too fast," he added.

Other observers have drawn parallels between Nadiem's case and two other political allies of former President Joko Widodo - ex-trade minister Tom Lembong and party official Hasto Kristiyanto.

Lembong and Kristiyanto were convicted of corruption but the current president Prabowo Subianto pardoned them in the spirit of national reconciliation.

The verdict also comes at a time of heightened unrest among the youth in the country, as the cost of living rises and the value of the local currency, the rupiah falls.

There has been rising anger at Prabowo's government and in recent weeks, protest marches have been staged across the country against policies that activists say is driving Indonesia to bankruptcy.