Journalist killed in shootout

Journalist killed in shootout

The management of the weekly magazine Detective and Legal Supremacy has denied reports that one of their journalists, Kaharuddin, 45, was killed last Saturday in a gunfight between security forces and members of Free Aceh Movement (GAM) in Peurelak subdistrict, East Aceh regency.

Edy Siregar, the executive editor of the magazine which was formerly named Detective Espionage, said here on Wednesday they had never hired a journalist called Kaharuddin since the magazine's establishment in 1985.

Kompas daily on Wednesday ran a report that one of the eight people who had been killed in Saturday's crossfire was Kaharuddin as identified by a press card in his pocket, that indicated that the victim worked for the now defunct Medan-based magazine Detective Espionage.

"He might have got the card a long time ago, when the magazine still existed; he is not our journalist and we have no knowledge of the victim." Edy said.

Military personnel could not explain why the victim was at the location when the shooting took place. Other sources said since its inception, the magazine had changed its names several times.

In 1998, Supriadi, a Medan Post's journalist was shot dead by an unknown gunman in East Aceh.--JP