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Govt grants compensation to victims of St. Lidwina church attack
Albertus Magnus Budijono, who received severe machete injuries to his neck, collected Rp 370 million (US$25,305), while Yohanes Trianta, who received injuries to his forehead, got Rp 241 million. Martinus Parmadi Subiyantara, who sustained an arm injury, received Rp 585,000.
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A man prays at Jakarta Cathedral on Tuesday, September 11, 2018. (JP/ Donny Fernando)
T
he Witness and Victim Protection Agency (LPSK) has handed out compensation money to victims of the terrorist attack on St. Lidwina church in Sleman, Yogyakarta.
In February, a man attacked churchgoers with a sword on a Sunday morning at the Catholic church, injuring the priest and several congregation members.
Albertus Magnus Budijono, who received severe machete injuries to his neck, collected Rp 370 million (US$25,305) in compensation from the LPSK, while Yohanes Trianta, who received injuries to his forehead, got Rp 241 million. Martinus Parmadi Subiyantara, who sustained an arm injury, received Rp 585,000.
“This is a form of state responsibility to citizens and respect of human rights,” LPSK deputy chairman Lili Pintauli Siregar said during the compensation handover at the Yogyakarta Gubernatorial Office on Friday.
Read also: Man attacks churchgoers at St Lidwina church in Yogyakarta
Lili said providing compensation money to victims of terrorism was a mandate of Law No. 31/2014 on the LPSK and Law No. 5/2018 on terrorism, which oblige the state to protect victims and help their medical and psychological recovery.
The proposal for the victims' compensation was included in the indictment documents against Suliyono, the attacker, at the West Jakarta District Court. The three victims were witnesses in the trial.
In addition to sentencing Suliyono to 15 years in prison on Oct. 16, the court also granted requests for compensation money for the victims.
The coordinator of an advocacy team for witnesses and victims of the St. Lidwina church attack, Suki Ratnasari, said there were actually four victims in the attack, but church priest Rev. Karl Edmund Prier had refused to testify in the trial.
“[Prier] refused to be a witness because he was not in the country when the trial took place,” she said, adding that all the victims had received protection from the LPSK.
Budijono, who spent two months in hospital to recover from his injuries, conveyed his gratitude to the government.
“The government has always been there to help us from the beginning,” he said. (vny)
