TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - A number of members of the joint fact-finding team formed by National Police (Polri) to investigate the attack case against Novel Baswedan visited the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) office on Wednesday, April 24. They met two higher-ups of the commission; Laode M. Syarif and Saut Situmorang.

“We would like to deliver several case development on what we have examined,” said the team member Hendardi in the KPK building, Jakarta, Wednesday, April 24.

Besides Hendardi, other members presented in the meeting were Poengky Indriati, former commissioner of Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) Nur Kholis, former KPK commissioner Indrianto Seno Adji, Ifdhal Kasim, and Amzulian Rifai.

The six were among police officers, KPK investigators, and experts assigned in the joint fact-finding team to handle the acid attack against the anti-graft body senior investigator within six months. Police Chief General Tito Karnavian established the team in early January 2019.

For the first three months, Hendardi explained, his team had conducted a crime reconstruction, probed witnesses and expert witnesses. “We also find a new witness,” he added.

Nur Kholis said the joint team had examined the alleged perpetrators’ alibis in Bekasi, Malang, and Ambon to seek the truth whether the person presented in those cities during the attack on April 11, 2017. “The temporary result shows consistency in what had been said in the earlier investigation,” he noted.

However, the joint team remained tight-lipped to expose the alleged involvement of generals in the liquid acid attack, reasoning the investigation was still afoot.

Previously, the Anti-corruption Civil Society Coalition exposed the involvement of more than one police generals in the Novel Baswedan case based on its investigation. The findings were reported to Komnas HAM and KPK on January 15, 2019.

In addition to reporting the case development, the joint team asked for the KPK leaders’ permission to probe Novel Baswedan as the victim witness. “I think we have the permit,” Nur Kholis concluded.

M ROSSENO AJI