Accused killer declares his innocence<\/p>\n
YOGYAKARTA (JP): The man accused of killing journalist Fuad
\nMuhammad Syafruddin insisted he was innocent and refused to
\ncontinue with a murder reconstruction the police staged Monday.<\/p>\n
Dwi Sumaji, the accused, said he had never set foot in the
\njournalist's home in Bantul, south of Yogyakarta, and could not
\ntherefore \"enact\" the killing as police ordered him to do.<\/p>\n
During the reconstruction that began at 10:30 p.m., Monday
\nnight, safeguarded by some 1,000 security officers, police
\nofficers tried to make the accused enact a number of possible
\nscenarios of the assault that took place on Aug. 13. After
\nseveral tries, Dwi balked.<\/p>\n
\"I don't even know Syafruddin, I've never set foot in his
\nhouse, I swear by the name of Allah,\" Dwi cried, running back to
\nthe police car.<\/p>\n
Police accused Eko Widiyanto, one of the suspect's lawyers
\nfrom the Legal Aid Institute, of disrupting the reconstruction
\nprocess. But Djufri Taufik, another of Dwi's lawyers, accused
\npolice officers of \"commanding Dwi to do everything\" from the
\nmoment he stepped out of the police car.<\/p>\n
Police arrested Dwi, a driver at a local advertising firm, on
\nOct. 21, on suspicion of killing Fuad. The journalist, better
\nknown as Udin, died three days after an attack on him without
\nregaining consciousness.<\/p>\n
Udin was well known for his critical reporting on the
\nYogyakarta and Bantul regency administration policies. His death
\nreceived wide media coverage because of a number of reported
\noddities in the police investigation procedures, including the
\nmanner of arresting Dwi.<\/p>\n
Udin's wife, Marsiyem, was not present during the
\nreconstruction because she was too ill. Chief of the Yogyakarta
\nprovincial prosecutors office Asrief Adam said the absence of the
\nmain witness rendered the procedure incomplete.<\/p>\n
He said the reconstruction had not been conducted in
\naccordance with instructions from the prosecutors office.<\/p>\n
\"The procedure should have involved both the key witness and
\nsuspect,\" Asrief said.<\/p>\n
Police dossiers on the accused were rejected last month
\nbecause they were deemed incomplete. On Dec. 2, the prosecutors
\noffice issued an explanation detailing areas still to be
\ncompleted in the dossiers.<\/p>\n
The team of lawyers for Dwi and Marsiyem yesterday said the
\nprosecutors office should declare the procedure legally invalid.
\n(23\/06)<\/p>",
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