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Police to decide FPI leader status in Pancasila insult case next week
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Under investigation – Islam Defenders Front (FPI) leader Rizieq Shihab (left) arrives at the West Java Police headquarters in Bandung, West Java, to attend a questioning session on Jan.12. Rizieq was questioned in the police's investigation into a case pertaining to an alleged insult to the Pancasila, as reported by Sukmawati Soekarnoputri.
(Antara/Fahrul Jayadiputra)
P
olice have said they will make a decision over the status of Islam Defenders Front (FPI) leader Rizieq Shihab in relation to a case pertaining to an alleged insult to the state ideology Pancasila after conducting a second case reenactment.
“We will conduct the reenactment next week,” Yusri, an investigator with the West Java Police’s general crimes directorate, was quoted as saying by kompas.com on Thursday.
“From the second reenactment, we will be able to decide Rizieq’s status sometime next week.”
(Read also: FPI leader Rizieq Shihab questions suspension of Twitter accounts)
The West Java Police held the first reenactment on Tuesday, after which it was decided that more witnesses needed to be questioned to make a decision in the case, Yusri said.
Rizieq is being questioned as a witness in a case centering on an alleged insult to the Pancasila. The police have stepped up their investigation into him from a preliminary investigation to a full investigation.
Normally, a person implicated in an alleged crime is named a suspect as an investigation proceeds from a preliminary to full investigation. However, in Rizieq’s case, it appears investigators are being careful because the case has attracted wide public attention.
“If he is found to have violated articles 154 and 320 of the Criminal Code, we will name him a suspect,” Yusri said. Article 154 covers insulting a state symbol and carries a maximum penalty of four years’ imprisonment, while Article 320 covers defaming a dead person, which carries a maximum penalty of four months’ in jail. (sfr/dmr)
