Jakarta, Aug. 1 -- Ari Yusuf Amir, head of the legal team for former trade minister Thomas Trikasih Lembong, stated that President Prabowo Subianto deserves appreciation for granting legal clemency to his client.

Speaking to journalists in Jakarta on Thursday, Amir expressed gratitude to the head of state and said he would personally inform his client of the granted clemency on Friday.

Lembong, who served as trade minister under the President Joko Widodo administration in 2015 and 2016, was sentenced to 4.5 years in prison by a Jakarta court on Friday, July 18.

The Jakarta Corruption Court found the former trade minister, better known as Tom Lembong, guilty of corruption in relation to the improper issuance of sugar import permits that...