Representatives of Society Care for Corruption Eradication Natalia Soebagjo (second from right), Betti Alisjahbana (second from left), Lelyana Santosa (left) and Zainal Arifin Mochtar (middle) accompanied by Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) spokesperson Febri Diansyah give an address at the KPK bulding, Jakarta, Friday (21/4). They asked the House of Representatives to not intervene in a KPK investigation through the proposal of the right of inquiry by House Commission III and asked the National Police to thoroughly investigate the act of terror on Novel Baswedan.
JAKARTA, KOMPAS — The National Police have identified and questioned two people suspected of committing an acid attack on Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) investigator Novel Baswedan.
National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Boy Rafli Amar said that when they were questioned the two denied being on the scene when Novel was attacked with acid on April 11. Novel had just finished performing a morning prayer at Al-Ihsan Mosque near his house in Kelapa Gading, Jakarta.
“So, we kept questioning them and the investigation team made them cooperative,” said Boy on Friday (21/4) at the police headquarters in Jakarta.
The identity of the two suspects was discovered when the police examined footage recorded by CCTV cameras. Before finding the two suspects, the police identified the two motorbikes they were riding.
Boy ensured the identity of the two suspects would be announced to the public as soon as the investigators determined their alleged roles in the attack.
Independent team
Law practitioner Abdul Fickar Hajar said the police investigation had fallen short. He said the case should be seen as a threat against law enforcers. “It seems the handling of the case was just business as usual. In fact, Novel is a law enforcer like a police investigator or prosecutor,” he said.
In order to improve the investigation and to boost public trust, Andalas University constitutional law expert Feri Amsari said President Joko Widodo needed to set up a special team. “I was convinced the President would welcome input to set up an independent investigation team,” Feri said.
Such an independent team was needed, Feri added, because the attack on Novel was full of political and legal nuances. It was difficult not to link the attack on Novel to the corruption case he was investigating. Novel was not only the chief investigator for the e-ID case, but also the investigator of other big cases. “Thus, the motives of this attack could be varied. Therefore, it needs an independent team to coordinate the fact finding so that it not only relies on the work of the police,” Feri said.
The establishment of an independent team was also proposed by some civil society organizations grouped in the Civil Society Coalition for the KPK. Miko Ginting from the coalition said the Novel case provided momentum for the KPK to build a better system to protect its investigators since they face corrupt officials who generally have huge influence and resources.
