Unveiling Motives behind Acid Attack against Novel Baswedan

The National Police are expected to be transparent in investigating two suspects, for allegedly throwing acid into the face of KPK investigator Novel Baswedan including by disclosing the alleged motives of the accused.

KOMPAS/YOLA SASTRA

Novel Baswedan

JAKARTA, KOMPAS - The National Police have arrested two active police officers for allegedly throwing acid into the face of Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) investigator Novel Baswedan. The arrests have been widely appreciated.

The National Police are expected to be transparent in investigating the two suspects, including by disclosing the alleged motives of the accused. The disclosure of the alleged motives of the accused is believed to be able to guide the police investigators in finding the “intellectual players” behind the acid attack against the KPK investigator.

Moreover, a former member of the fact-finding team (TPF) on the Novel case formed by the police earlier said that the attack could be related to corruption cases handled by Novel, such as the corruption involving electronic ID cards, corruption involving former Constitutional Court chief justice Akil Mochtar, corruption involving the former secretary-general of the Supreme Court, Nurhadi, corruption involving the former regent of Buol, Central Sulawesi, and the Wisma Athlete corruption case.

The technical team found significant information and we followed it up.

The acid attack on Novel could also be related to Novel\'s involvement in the shooting of a man who was involved in stealing birds\' nests in Bengkulu in 2004 (Kompas, 18/7/2019).

The police’s Criminal Investigation Department (Bareskrim) chief, Insp. Gen. Listyo Sigit Prabowo, only identified the two alleged perpetrators by their initials RM and RB during a press briefing at the Jakarta police headquarters on Friday. However, the rank and the departments where the two police members come from were not revealed.

"The technical team found significant information and we followed it up. Last night [Thursday] the technical team worked with the head of the mobile brigade corps to arrest the [accused] who allegedly conducted an acid attack on NB," said Listyo.

Kompas

Activists of the Anti-Corruption Civil Society Coalition stage a placard demonstration at the headquarters of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) in Jakarta on Tuesday. They are demanding that the case involving the acid attack on senior KPK investigator Novel Baswedan should be thoroughly investigated and solved.

The head of the public information bureau of the police’s public relations division, Brig. Gen. (Pol) Argo Yuwono, said the arrests were made after a long investigation and the questioning of 73 witnesses.

The police had formed a technical team, a team of experts and cooperated with several agencies.

Based on the results of the investigations and intelligence received by the police, the two accused were arrested in Depok, West Java, and were later taken to the Jakarta Police headquarters. "Earlier [Friday] morning, they were named suspects. In the afternoon, there was a further investigation, with the presence of a lawyer from the police law division. We cannot disclose the motive because it is still under investigation," Argo said.

RM and RB were arrested more than two years since Novel was attacked with acid by two people. The acid attack severely injured Novel’s left eye.

KPK chairman Firli Bahuri said he appreciated the arrests. He expressed his highest appreciation to the National Police. "I convey my congratulations to the entire police force. This is the answer the Indonesian people have been awaiting for a long time," he said.

Kompas

Indonesian Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) investigator Novel Baswedan, center, who was injured in an attacked by unidentified assailants is assisted by officials and police officers as he leaves the general hospital where he was treated in to be transferred to an eye hospital, in Jakarta, Indonesia, Tuesday, April 11, 2017. Police say the anti-graft commission investigator leading a probe into a scandal that threatens to implicate high-profile Indonesian politicians was attacked with a chemical as he returned from dawn prayers. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)

TPF Recommendation

A former member of the TPF, Poengky Indarti, revealed that the two suspects were not among the 40 people who had been questioned by the team. He said he hopes that the Novel case can be fully disclosed.

A member of Novel’s legal team, Yati Andriyani, said the National Police’s technical team must explore the alleged involvement of the two suspects, the motives of the attack and the possible involvement of other parties in the case. She said that based on the findings and recommendations of the fact-finding team, the attacks could be related to Novel\'s duties as a KPK investigator.

Muhammad Isnur, one of Novel’s lawyers, said that the accusation that two active police members were the perpetrators strongly indicated that Novel\'s statement that there were police officers involved in the terrorism against him was true.

"But it cannot stop here because it is impossible for members of the police to act if there are no orders. The intellectual actor should be revealed," Isnur said.