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Calls mount for Jokowi to resolve Novel’s case after failed probe
With the fact-finding team set up by National Police chief Gen
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span>With the fact-finding team set up by National Police chief Gen. Tito Karnavian failing to find significant leads in its investigation into the acid attack on top antigraft investigator Novel Baswedan, the onus is now on President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo to resolve the high-profile case.
A group of civil society organizations advocating for Novel — consisting of, among others, the Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW), the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute (LBH) and the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) — has called on the President to set up an independent fact-finding team that will report to him directly.
“If the team is put under the President’s coordination, it will minimize the chance of a conflict of interest. Based on Novel’s earlier testimony, there was an allegation that at least a police general was involved in the attack,” ICW researcher Wana Alamsyah told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.
Novel previously expressed suspicion that a police general played a role in the attack but did not name names.
Activists have said that Jokowi needs to step in as the fact-finding team set up by the police had failed to do its job, and even partly placed the blame on Novel by suggesting that the attack was motivated by Novel’s “excessive use of power” in carrying out his duties as a Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) investigator.
Upon delivering its final report on Wednesday, the police’s fact-finding team recommended that the force form a new technical team to continue its investigation. The new team would operate under the police’s Criminal Investigation Department (Bareskrim) head, Insp. Gen. Idham Azis.
A lawyer representing Novel, Alghiffari Aqsa, said he was disappointed with the police’s recommendation.
“We suspect that this move was made to buy time. If the investigation is prolonged, it might be more difficult to find evidence and solve the case,” he said.
As of Thursday, Jokowi has yet to make any statements on the investigation. Representatives of the State Palace were also not immediately available for comment on Thursday.
Two unidentified men threw acid at Novel’s face as he was heading home on April 11, 2017, after performing morning prayers at a nearby mosque in Kelapa Gading, North Jakarta.
Established in January, the fact-finding team – comprising mostly police officers – had spent the last six months investigating the case.
Previously, the investigation into the acid attack was initially led by the Jakarta Police, under the supervision of and with assistance from the National Police. It, however, failed to find any leads. The police were only able to produce two sketches of the attackers, but there are no further leads on the perpetrators.
Alghiffari said Idham’s role on the new team would not advance the investigation, as the two-star general previously headed the investigation during his time with the Jakarta Police.
“The police should be professional regarding this case. They should report to the President, who should respond by forming an independent fact-finding team under his authority.”
While saying the police should complete the investigation themselves, Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) lawmaker Trimedya Panjaitan said the decision on whether to form an independent team was up to the President.
“The police’s team should report its results to the President first. He might ask for more opinions from experts as well as civil society organizations. If the President finds it necessary to form such a team, so be it,” he said.
KPK deputy chairman Saut Situmorang asserted that the actions of KPK investigators, including Novel, were by the book.
“Novel does his job based on the commissioners’ orders. He also works on an investigation team, comprising other officers who carry out our orders,” Saut said.
Despite the team’s failure to identify a suspect, Saut said the police’s fact-finding team confirmed one important thing: the acid attack was not merely a personal attack, but rather an attack on his job to fight corruption at the KPK.
“However, the priority remains the same: find the suspects and reveal their motives behind committing the acid attack,” he said.
