Iwik not to sue police for wrong indictment

YOGYAKARTA (JP): Dwi Sumaji, recently acquitted in the murder case against Bernas journalist Fuad Muhammad Syafruddin or Udin, said yesterday he would not file a lawsuit against the police for falsely collecting evidence against him.

To the disappointment of many of his sympathizers, Dwi Sumaji, better known as Iwik, told reporters yesterday he had written his team of lawyers confirming his stance.

"It will take me a long time to finish this legal battle. I'd rather live in peace with my family," said the father of one at his home in Triharjo village, Sleman, 20 kilometers north of here.

He dismissed the notion that he had been threatened to make the decision, adding that it was his own wish not to press with the suit.

National Police Chief Gen. Dibyo Widodo unveiled Monday Sumaji's four-point statement sent by the lawyers grouped in the Yogyakarta Legal Defenders. Included in the statement was Sumaji's pledge not to sue the police for the wrong indictment.

The Bantul District Court cleared Sumaji of murder charges on Nov. 27 after 13 months of controversial legal proceedings which saw the local prosecutor office reject police dossiers on his alleged crime four times.

Sumaji, a driver for a local advertisement firm, was the lone suspect in the murder of Bernas daily journalist, Fuad Muhammad Syafruddin or Udin as he was widely known, in August 1996.

Police are now searching for the real culprit. The Association of Indonesian Journalists has repeatedly claimed that Udin's murder was linked to his reports.

Lawyers from the Yogyakarta Legal Aid Institute and the Islamic University's Legal Aid and Counsel regretted Sumaji's decision yesterday, saying that it would discourage all efforts to establish the rule of law in the country.

"People are hoping Iwik will file a lawsuit against police for the sake of fair law enforcement. The lawsuit will serve as the milestone of the bid," Yogyakarta Legal Aid Institute spokesman Budi Hartono said. (23/amd)