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Activists call for transparent investigation into environmental lawyer's death amid alleged discrepancies
The late's lawyer wife also said her husband had received threatening calls prior to his death.
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Illustration of a crime scene. (Shutterstock/Fer Gregory)
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o significant progress has been made in an investigation into the death of environmental lawyer Golfrid Siregar in Medan, North Sumatra four months after he was found severely injured, activists have said, while urging the police to be more transparent in the case amid discrepancies.
A coalition of activists grouped under #JusticeForGolfrid lambasted the North Sumatra Police for the investigation into Golfrid’s death that had gone stagnant. Police previously said his death was the result of a traffic accident. Golfrid was legal coordinator for the North Sumatra chapter of the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi).
Even though the North Sumatra Police had named three suspects in connection to Golfrid death for allegedly stealing his belongings, the police have not been transparent in their investigation, and the deceased’s relatives, including his wife, have yet to be summoned for questioning. The full autopsy report has also not been made public.
“I have not been questioned by the police and neither have our relatives,” Golfrid’s wife, Resmi Barimbing, told reporters at a press conference at the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) office on Thursday.
Resmi also claimed that prior to her husband’s death, he had been terrorized with threatening phone calls. He had also asked to move away from Medan to Batam, Riau Islands province.
“People kept calling him saying that Medan was no longer safe for us,” Resmi said, adding that the family had actually planned to move before Goldfrid’s death in October.
North Sumatra Police criminal investigation department head Sr. Comr. Andi Rian said the investigation was still ongoing. Police say they have questioned 16 witnesses in connection to Golfrid's death, eight of whom were people that had met with Golfrid prior to his death.
