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Leniency for Richard Eliezer serves greater good, analysts say
The junior officer may have a path back into the National Police, depending on the results of an internal ethics hearing.
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Second Agent (Bharada) Richard Eliezer (center), also known as Bharada E, arrives at the South Jakarta District Court on Feb. 15, 2023 to stand trial for the premeditated murder of Brig. Nofriansyah Yosua Hutabarat, a colleague in the National Police. Richard was handed an 18-month prison sentence by judges for his role in exposing the murder plot, despite being found guilty of abetting it. (Antara/Reno Esnir)
T
he 18-month prison sentence handed down to Second Agent (Bharada) Richard Eliezer, the National Police officer who fired at least one of the bullets in the 2022 murder of his colleague and later exposed the plot to authorities, has sent a message that the country’s court system is willing to reward cooperation, analysts have said.
But Richard, who was originally identified in the investigation as Bharada E, is not off the hook just yet, as questions remain regarding whether a murder accomplice can or should be welcomed back into the corps.
On Wednesday, in the last of a series of trials over the July 2022 killing of Brig. Nofriansyah Yosua Hutabarat, a panel of judges at the South Jakarta District Court found Richard guilty of abetting the murder.
The bench said Richard’s cooperation with authorities justified the lighter, 18-month sentence, a fraction of the 12 years sought by prosecutors.
The role of “justice collaborator”, which Richard undertook, is offered to a perpetrator of a crime who is willing to work with law enforcement to reveal the details of a case and the roles of other culprits.
Poengky Indarti of the National Police Commission said the ruling showed the judges’ acknowledgement of Richard’s role in bringing crucial evidence to the case.
“Richard’s trial was [carried out] under extraordinary terms. Specifically, it has shown that justice collaborators can get the recognition they deserve,” she told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.
