Police to Complete Case Files on Novel Baswedan Acid Attack

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Jakarta’s High Prosecutor Office (Kejati) has returned to the police two case files on the alleged suspects behind the acid attack on Corruption Eradication Commission’s (KPK) senior investigator, Novel Baswedan.

In response to that, Police Headquarters’ (Mabes Polri) Chief of Community Information Center (Karopenmas), Brigadier General Argo Yuwono, stated that the police are in the process of completing the case files.

“It is still in the process of fulfilling the completion," Argo said when contacted by Tempo, on Wednesday, February 5, 2020. However, Argo did not explain when the completion of the file would be finished. He was also reluctant to explain in more detail about the missing segment of the case files.

The Jakarta Metropolitan Police (Polda Metro Jaya) previously submitted the RK and RB files to the Jakarta Attorney General's Office on January 16, 2020. The submission follows the second investigation file, that has been completed, as claimed by the investigator.

However, on January 28, 2020, the Jakarta High Prosecutor's Office returned the two RK and RB files to the police, as the results of the police investigation were found to be incomplete.

“The Public Prosecutor is of the opinion that the results of the investigation are apparently still incomplete. The Public Prosecutor immediately returned the case files to the investigator, with instructions for it to be completed,” said the Jakarta High Prosecutor's Office Chief of Legal Information Center (Kasipenkum), Nirwan Nawani, in a written statement.

Nirwan did not elaborate on the specific lack of formal and material conditions that needs to be completed by the investigator, as the completeness is needed to fulfill the validity and qualification elements of the articles alleged to the suspects.

The articles that have been alleged to the suspects refer to Article 170 paragraph (2) of the Criminal Code and/or Article 351 paragraph (2) of the Criminal Code concerning assault with a maximum penalty of 5 years and 9 years, respectively.

Novel Baswedan fell victim to an acid attack on April 11, 2017 after performing the Fajr Prayer near his home, at Al-Ihsan Mosque, Kelapa Gading, North Jakarta. This case had remained unsolved for two and a half years without any suspect being identified.

The police finally arrested two perpetrators behind the assault on Novel Baswedan in Kelapa Dua, Depok, West Java, late last year. The police ensured that the two perpetrators were active members in the Indonesian Police Force.

M JULNIS FIRMANSYAH