Komnas HAM Fears Ferdy Sambo's Court Trial Will Turn Complicated
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14 September 2022 08:51 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The chief of the National Commission for Human Rights (Komnas HAM) Ahmad Taufan Damanik on Tuesday fears the disconcerting orders from the former Police Internal Affairs Chief Ferdy Sambo in the murder investigation of his own aide Brigadier Yosua will be used as a loophole for Sambo’s defense in court.
Initially, a police investigation found Sambo had ordered one of his subordinates, Richard Eliezer, to fire his gun on Yosua. This order itself, according to the Komnas HAM chief, can be interpreted as an order to pull the trigger to harm Yosua and not necessarily kill.
“Richard confessed he was ordered to shoot, but that doesn’t mean that he was ordered to kill. Sambo did not specifically say ‘kill him, Richard.’ This aspect can be used by Sambo in court to [produce a defense] that he did not order the killing,” said Taufan when reached by Tempo at the Komnas HAM headquarters in Central Jakarta on September 13.
Taufan fears that the order to fire the weapon can be perceived in court as a means to injure instead of an order of execution. He called for the public prosecutors to carefully establish the meaning behind Ferdy Sambo’s order to shoot.
“Because Sambo said ‘shoot card (Richard), shoot’ instead of ‘kill card, kill.’ Sambo claims he ordered the shooting as a deterrent effect so his wife would not be threatened,” Taufan added.
One Key Witness Backs Away
The Komnas HAM chief said this case could possibly be more complicated after policeman Ricky Rizal backed down from being a witness to the crime scene. His lawyer, Erman Umar, said Ricky does not intend to be a witness anymore after being traumatized by the killing.
In the absence of Ricky as a witness, it was revealed that at the time of the shooting there were only Ferdy Sambo and Richard Eliezer. This can be dim in the absence of other witnesses.
"Because Ricky said he didn't know and he looked away during the incident. He didn't see it. Erman yesterday said he did not see it. This means that this testimony can make the case less clear. Because the ones who can tell about the case are Ferdy Sambo and Richard themselves,” said Taufan.
HAMDAN CHOLIFUDIN ISMAIL
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