‘Witness’ seeks support from human rights bodies

Arief Sugiharto, who faces murder charges, has sought support from human rights groups for a fair and just trial at the Denpasar District Court.

Sugiharto is currently testifying as a witness in the murder of newly wed couple Feeny Maria Suliyanto and Sugianto Salim in Denpasar.

Sugiharto sent a letter to the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) and the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) asking for support in what he called an unfair trial.

The defendants in the trial, Fahrudin and Wayan Agus Indriyanto, alleged Sugiharto was the mastermind behind the murders.

Fahrudin’s defense claimed Wednesday that Sugiharto engineered last year’s murder of the couple.

Through his lawyer, Haposan Sihombing, Fahrudin maintained that Sugiharto had asked him and Indriyanto to carry out the murder because Sugiharto and the victims were business competitors.

The defendant said Sugiharto promised to pay him Rp 1 million as a reward.

Before the murder, Fahrudin said, he was asked to meet Sugiharto in Lumintang field, where the latter gave him a knife to be used in the murder.

“Therefore, the defendant demands that Arief Sugiarto be charged and sentenced,” Fahrudin’s lawyer said.

Fenny Maria and Sugianto were found dead on Dec. 10 last year in their rented shop house on Jl. Wahidin in Denpasar, just two weeks after getting married.

In a previous hearing, prosecutors sought a 20-year sentence for Fahrudin for committing premeditated murder and six years for Indriyanto.

Kontras representatives on Wednesday attended the hearing at the Denpasar District Court where Fahrudin read out his defense plea.

Kontras’ Edwin Partogi said the defense was making an unreasonable attempt to charge Sugiharto as the defendant in the case, despite the latter’s strong alibi presented to police during the investigation.

“Based on reports we received from Sugiharto, we come here to monitor the session and to watch for any unfair practices during the legal process,” Edwin said.

“Sugiharto has a strong alibi, but why in the prosecution was he identified as the organizer of the murders despite his status as a witness, not a suspect?”

“We hope this legal process can be carried out fairly without intervention,” he said, adding that Kontras also found discrepancies in the police investigation.

Komnas HAM has also received a report from Sugiharto and has submitted a request to the Bali Police and prosecutors to look into the investigation.