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BNN, police investigate alleged links to executed drug lord
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Repent – Freddy Budiman (seated center), a drug lord sentenced to death, attends the second hearing on his appeal at the Cilacap District Court in Central Java in May. The Attorney General's Office executed Freddy on July 29. (thejakartapost.com/Agus Maryono)
T
he testimony of executed drug convict Freddy Budiman to a human rights activist has opened an investigation by the National Narcotics Agency (BNN) and the National Police into the possible involvement of their officers in the distribution of drugs in the country.
“We are investigating the matter and expect Pak Haris to provide us evidence related to the testimony,” BNN chief Comr. Gen. Budi Waseso said Tuesday.
He was referring to Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (KontraS) coordinator Haris Azhar, to whom Freddy gave his testimony. The drug convict told Haris that he had received assistance from the BNN, National Police and Indonesian Military (TNI) personnel to run his drug business. Haris later wrote an article based on his meeting with Freddy, which he said took place on Nusakambangan prison island in Cilacap, Central Java, in the middle of 2014.
Haris’ article went viral on social media on July 28, one day before the drug kingpin was executed on Nusakambangan.
Echoing the BNN chief, National Police spokesperson Insp. Gen Boy Rafli Amar said his institution was examining the testimony but that it could only analyze the content of the testimony because it was disseminated in a written statement without a voice recording.
“We think that his testimony was related to his psychological condition as he was sentenced to death [in 2012]. He would do anything to escape,” he told journalists.
It was stated in the article that Freddy had given around Rp 450 billion (US$ 34.42 million) to the BNN and Rp 90 billion to top police officials throughout his time as a drug lord. It was also mentioned that BNN officials had once asked the Nusakambangan warden, Sitinjak, to remove two surveillance cameras monitoring Freddy’s activities. (wnd/ebf)
