Fresh row erupts over blood

Fresh row erupts over blood

YOGYAKARTA: A fresh row has erupted over the blood samples of
slain journalist Fuad Muhammad Syafruddin's that the police threw
away.

Lawyers representing the journalist's widow, Marsiyem, denied
yesterday the police accusation that she was seeking to
"commercialize" the blood by filing a Rp 105-million (US$45,000)
lawsuit.

Budi Hartono, from the Yogyakarta chapter of the Indonesian
Legal Aid Institute, said the accusation was groundless, and that
the police did not understand the underlying philosophy of the
legal action.

"In fact the justice that we are seeking cannot be measured in
terms of money," Budi said.

Marsiyem filed the lawsuit against the chief of the Bantul
police precinct and a detective for losing the blood samples they
borrowed from her for their investigation into her husband's
death.

Police said they dumped the sample in the Indian Ocean in the
belief that they would obtain a divine blessing in their effort
to identify the murderer of the Bernas daily journalist.

It is generally believed that his murder last August was
connected to his investigative reporting of the alleged
widespread corruption in the Bantul administration.

Critics have accused the police of a cover-up. The police have
arrested a travel agent employee they believe is Safruddin's
murderer but critics doubt he is guilty. (23)