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Jakarta Post

Police question 12 witnesses in Novel's libel case

The Jakarta Police have questioned 12 witnesses as part of an investigation into an act of defamation allegedly committed by senior Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) investigator Novel Baswedan, including Novel's direct supervisor at the anti-graft body, Brig. Gen. Aris Budiman, who filed the report against Novel.

Callistasia Anggun Wijaya (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta
Tue, September 12, 2017

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Police question 12 witnesses in Novel's libel case Anticorruption activists carry a banner that reads "One eye lost, millions of others scrutinizing" during a rally at the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) in South Jakarta last month. They demanded that President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo establish an independent fact-finding team to help investigate the acid attack against senior KPK investigator Novel Baswedan, whose eyes were severely injured in an acid attack in April. (JP/Dhoni Setiawan)

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he Jakarta Police have questioned 12 witnesses as part of an investigation into an act of defamation allegedly committed by senior Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) investigator Novel Baswedan.

Novel's direct supervisor at the anti-graft body, Brig. Gen. Aris Budiman, who filed the report with the police on Aug. 21 against Novel for circulating a slanderous statement via email among KPK employees, was among the 12 persons grilled by police investigators.

Other witnesses in the preliminary police investigation were current and former KPK staffers, said Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Argo Yuwono on Tuesday.

Novel has not yet been named a suspect in the case, pending the results of a meeting set to be held soon to determine whether the report merits further investigation.

“Let’s just see where it will lead us [on whether Novel will be named a suspect],” Argo said at the Jakarta Police headquarters on Tuesday.

Aris, a high-ranking police officer seconded to the KPK as its director of investigation, claimed the email saying he had "no integrity" had insulted him.

Meanwhile, Novel is still receiving medical treatment in Singapore after an acid attack severely injured his eyes in April. The police have yet to name any suspects responsible for the attack. (ipa)

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