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Two people named suspects in Sleman church incident
The Yogyakarta Police have named two suspects in the attempt to vandalize a Pentecostal church in Sleman, Yogyakarta, two weeks ago
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heYogyakarta Police have named two suspects in the attempt to vandalize aPentecostal church in Sleman, Yogyakarta, two weeks ago. The two individualswere Nico Lomboan, a reverend, and Turmudzi, a local resident who allegedly initiatedthe violence.
'Reverend Nico was named a suspect because he broke the church's seal and insisted on organizing a sermon. This is in violation of Spatial Planning Law No.26/2007,' Yogyakarta Police spokesperson Adj. Sr. Comr. Anny Pudjiastuti said on Friday.
The church, which was erected on a plot of land that belonged to Nico, had been sealed since 2012 over an alleged permit violation. According to local authorities, the land permit was for a personal residence, not for a house of prayer.
Nico said he had to break the seal because he could not afford to pay additional rent to hold weekly services elsewhere.
Anny added Turmudzi had been named a suspect for allegedly attempting to vandalize the building, and that he faced charges of violating the Criminal Code.
Anny said that neither Nico nor Turmudzi had been arrested because they had both promised to cooperate with the police during the investigation.
In recent weeks, the Yogyakarta Police has been criticized by rights activists for the slow pace of its investigation into the case. Similar complaints have been lodged regarding the police investigation into a recent attack on a Catholic prayer group at a house that was also located in Sleman.
The attack left home owner Julius Felicianus severely injured, and three others suffered minor injuries. A camera belonging to Michael Aryawan, a journalist with Kompas TV, was also taken by the assailants.
At present, police investigations into the prayer group attack have resulted in the naming of a single individual, KH, as a suspect. Police claim that a lack of information has hampered the effort to identify additional suspects.(dic)
