Death penalty call in Azhar case

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Prosecutors in Indonesia have demanded the death penalty for the former head of the country's anti-corruption agency in his murder trial.

Antasari Azhar has been charged with ordering the murder of wealthy businessman Nasrudin Zulkarnaen over a love triangle with a female golf caddy.

Mr Azhar has said he is innocent and the case is retaliation for his work unveiling corruption among officials.

The agency has managed to put a number of Indonesia's elite behind bars.

Sex, lies and golf

Prosecutors in the Zulkarnaen case say Antasari Azhar and two accomplices organised his murder after a game of golf in Jakarta in March last year.

They say Mr Azhar was romantically linked with Nasrudin Zulkarnaen's third wife, a 22-year-old golf caddy, and ordered his murder when Mr Zulkarnaen tried to blackmail him.

Chief prosecutor Cirus Sinaga called for the death penalty for all three defendants.

The trial has been called the "sex, lies and golf scandal" in Indonesia, says the BBC's Karishma Vaswani in Jakarta.

Mr Azhar said he would present his defence at the next court session on 28 January. A verdict is expected early in February.

Mr Azhar was head of the country's anti-corruption commission, or KPK, until he was suspended on his arrest last May.

As Indonesia's top corruption fighter, he oversaw a number of successful investigations into government officials.

Reducing the country's widespread corruption was a key promise of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's re-election campaign last year.

Corruption is seen as a major impediment to foreign investment in Indonesia and is a major source of discontent among ordinary Indonesians.

Two other members of the KPK were exonerated of abuse of power last year after evidence emerged of a plot among police officials to frame them.