Police to keep open mind about Marsinah case<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The police force will be open minded in renewing
\nthe investigation into the murder of labor activist Marsinah and
\nwill use every piece of material evidence available to resolve
\nthe mystery of who killed her in May 1993.<\/p>\n
National Police Chief Gen. Banurusman Astrosemitro said
\ninvestigators will also use the findings on the case reported by
\nthe National Commission on Human Rights as a reference.<\/p>\n
"I've ordered the East Java police chief to reopen the
\ninvestigation, using every available bit of information,
\nincluding that provided by the report from the human rights
\ncommission," he told reporters on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Gen. Banurusman said he is sending two of his top officers,
\nthe director of intelligence and the director of detectives, to
\nassist the East Java Police with the investigation, Antara
\nreported.<\/p>\n
Police are reopening the Marsinah case in the wake of the
\nSupreme Court's acquittal of all of the nine people who were
\nearlier convicted by lower courts of the brutal murder.<\/p>\n
The National Commission on Human Rights launched its own
\ninvestigation last year when the court trials of the nine people
\nwere still under way.<\/p>\n
The commission said in its report that it had indications that
\nthe authorities were trying the wrong people and that the real
\nmurderers could still be at large. The commission also found
\nindications that torture had been used to extract incriminating
\nstatements from the defendants in the case.<\/p>\n
The report, which was submitted to the Armed Forces, was
\nlargely ignored and the nine defendants were later convicted.<\/p>\n
Marsinah's badly mutilated body was found in May 1993, only a
\nfew days after she led a workers' strike at PT Catur Putra Surya,
\nthe watch making factory near Surabaya where she was working. Her
\nmurder prompted an outcry domestically and abroad, with calls on
\nthe authorities to bring the killers to justice.<\/p>\n
The nine people put on trial -- the director of the company,
\nsome top managers and security guards -- immediately became the
\nprime suspects in the highly celebrated murder case. Police said
\nthe nine plotted the murder to put an end to Marsinah's activism
\nonce and for all.<\/p>\n
The nine defendants denied all of the allegations and charged
\nthat the police tortured them during the investigation.<\/p>\n
Seven of them walked out of Surabaya correctional institutions
\nlast week following the Supreme Court's ruling, regaining their
\nfreedom after 19 months. The only woman among the defendants had
\ncompleted her seven months of imprisonment last year.<\/p>\n
The director of the company, Judi Susanto, was released last
\nNovember, after the East Java High Court overturned the lower
\ncourt ruling finding him guilty of masterminding the murder.<\/p>\n
Gen. Banurusman said he has not set any specific deadline for
\nwhen the investigation should be completed.<\/p>\n
Some murder cases are more difficult than others to solve, he
\nsaid. "Reopening an old case is especially difficult. It's not as
\neasy as turning over your hand. We must not be rushed. The main
\nthing in our investigation is accuracy."<\/p>\n
The Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation said on Tuesday that to
\nfully solve the mystery of the murder, the Marsinah case should
\nbe looked at in the overall context of the politics of labor in
\nIndonesia.<\/p>\n
The investigation should not be restricted to looking for the
\nkiller or killers, Hendardi, the foundation's director for
\ncommunication and special programs, said.<\/p>\n
The government has insisted that Marsinah's murder was purely
\na criminal case and had nothing to do with the labor conditions
\nin the country.<\/p>\n
Hendardi demanded that the police question two key witnesses,
\nwhose testimony led to the conviction of the nine defendants.<\/p>\n
The two women, both domestic helpers working for Judi Susanto,
\ntestified in court that they saw Marsinah brought into his house,
\nwhere she was kept locked in a room for three days. The two women
\nhave since disappeared. (emb)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/police-to-keep-open-mind-about-marsinah-case-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}