Police Claim to Have Arrested Attacker of KPK Novel Baswedan

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The National Police said that they have arrested an alleged suspect responsible for the acid attack against KPK investigator Novel Baswedan.

“Police have arrested Mico. He has been questioned,” the National Police Chief General Tito Karnavian said yesterday, May 18, in Jakarta.

Tito said that Mico is believed to have attacked Novel because he had made a video saying that he was paid by the KPK to claim that Muhtar Ependy had committed perjury in a regional election bribery case against then-defendant, former Constitutional Court Chief Justice Akil Mochtar, who has now been sentenced.

Muhtar Ependy, who has been sentenced to 5 years in prison for perjury, has recently been named a suspect in Akil Mochtar’s bribery case in relation to Empat Lawang regency and Palembang city election dispute. Tito said that Mico is, in fact, Muhtar’s nephew.

However, Tito declined the divulge details on Mico’s questioning. He said that Jakarta Metro Police today will meet the KPK leaders. “The evidence of intimidation, perjury, witnesses, documents and bank transfer will be submitted.”

Novel Baswedan on April 11 was attacked by two unidentified individuals after an early morning prayer near his house in Kelapa Gading, North Jakarta. Earlier, President Joko Widodo had said that he will personally ask Tito about the case.

Anti-corruption activists had expressed their disappointment over sluggish police investigation. They had urged President Jokowi to form a fact-finding team who may work independently.

The KPK spokesman Febri Diansyah said that the agency will await police investigation process. “We have heard about the arrest,” he said. “We expect [the police] can find the terror attacker and the mastermind.”

Yohanes Paskalis | Francisco Rosarians | Hussein Abri Dongoran