Embassy protests American's death<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The United States has filed a protest with the
\nIndonesian government over the presumed death of an American who
\nwas in the custody of the immigration department.<\/p>\n
U.S. Embassy Press Attache Karl Fritz would not identify the
\nman on Thursday pending notification of next of kin.<\/p>\n
\"We would like to tell them first before they read about it in
\nthe newspaper,\" Fritz said, adding that attempts to contact the
\nman's family had been unsuccessful.<\/p>\n
Fritz said the man worked in the mining industry and had
\nvisited Indonesia several times. He reportedly fell overboard on
\nMarch 12 from the ship carrying him from Kota Baru in South
\nKalimantan to the Central Java capital of Semarang for further
\nquestioning for lacking travel documents. His body has not been
\nfound.<\/p>\n
U.S. Ambassador Robert S. Gelbard officially handed the
\nprotest letter to Minister of Foreign Affairs Alwi Shihab on
\nMonday and demanded Jakarta investigate the case.<\/p>\n
\"We are giving Deplu (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) a very
\nstrong protest involving what appears to be the loss of life of
\nan American citizen,\" Gelbard said after the meeting with Alwi on
\nMonday.<\/p>\n
\"The U.S government is extremely upset ... because it appears
\nthat the man disappeared and he is presumed to have died, while
\nhe was in the custody of the immigration authority.\"<\/p>\n
He said the immigration office informed him of the case only
\non March 29, 17 days after it took place.<\/p>\n
The ambassador said he wondered whether the man fell overboard
\nor was the victim of foul play.<\/p>\n
\"This (the case) has been handled poorly so far by the
\nimmigration authority and my government is extremely concerned.\"<\/p>\n
Immigration spokesman Mursanuddin Gani confirmed the incident
\nhappened on March 12, but stated that the man committed suicide.<\/p>\n
\"The man jumped into the water according to the captain of the
\nvessel belonging to the state passenger liner PT Pelni,\"
\nMursanuddin told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.<\/p>\n
He said the man was arrested in Kota Baru and was in the local
\nimmigration office's custody for a month. The man failed to show
\nproper travel documents, Mursanuddin said.<\/p>\n
In response to Gelbard's protest, Alwi said he would seek
\nexplanation from the Ministry of Law and Legislation, which
\noversees the immigration office.<\/p>\n
\"We will have to find out the truth and verify it first, but
\nwe do regret the absence of the notification and the reason for
\nit,\" Alwi said. (dja)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/embassy-protests-americans-death-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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