Police capture suspect in PKB murder
Police capture suspect in PKB murder
ID Nugroho, The Jakarta Post, Surabaya
East Java Police said on Friday they had captured a suspect charged with hacking to death a Muslim cleric who was a politician from the National Awakening Party (PKB) in Lumajang regency in November.
"It's true that Lora Anshori has been arrested in (neighboring) Jember regency. Currently, he is being interrogated by the police in Lumajang," East Java Police chief Firman Gani told The Jakarta Post in Surabaya.
He said Anshori had confessed to slaying Asmuni Ishak, who chaired Lumajang's PKB board of patrons, together with five accomplices.
The five suspects were identified as Hudin, Sipur, Mahbur, Dultasi and Durasman, who remain at large.
Gani said the police have set up a new team to search for the missing suspects. "We have already obtained complete data on the five."
The East Java Police chief said Anshori was arrested on Thursday night at the home of local resident named Atmadin from the hamlet of Karang Tengah in Jembersari village, Sumberbaru subdistrict.
Atmadin was being questioned by the Lumajang Police on charges of hiding Anshori in Jember.
Police had earlier questioned four people as witnesses in the incident and later released them.
At least six men armed with machetes broke into Asmuni's house in Jatiroto subdistrict, Lumajang, and hacked him to death on Nov. 27. His wife, Siti Mutmainah, survived but was seriously wounded in the attack.
PKB politicians, including former president Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid, have said they believe Asmuni's murder was politically motivated as it took place ahead of the 2004 elections.
However, police have said an investigation showed that the slaying was an ordinary crime, despite the fact that the killers did not make off with luxury goods from Asmuni's house.
Gani said the allegations of a political motive behind the murder had not come to light. "We are continuing the investigation," he added.
In 1999, dozens of Muslim preachers linked to the PKB were beaten or hacked to death in a number of different regencies across East Java. It was claimed that the clerics were murdered as they had practiced black magic.
The killings remain a mystery. Little effort was made to solve the seemingly organized murders.
East Java is the stronghold of the PKB that is affiliated to the country's largest Muslim organization Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), which Gus Dur once led.
PKB chairman of East Java chapter Choirul Anam hailed on Friday the arrest of Anshori and expressed hope that it would soon uncover the motive behind the slaying of Asmuni.
"Thank God. It shows that the police have worked hard to solve the case," he said in Surabaya.
Yet he asked the police not to ignore evidence uncovered by an investigative team set up by the PKB that the murder was politically motivated.
"Because the victim was a political figure and there were no goods stolen, it means (the crime) was politically motivated," Anam added.
He said PKB members and other people wanted to see a transparent and fair investigation into the incident. "For that purpose, it's better if the probe into the Asmuni case be carried out at the East Java Police headquarters."
Similarly, PKB faction chairman in the province's legislative council Fathurrosid said his party wanted the police to complete the investigation before the 2004 elections.
Following the death of Asmuni, deputy PKB chairman Mahfud M.D. claimed earlier this month that certain persons had been hired to try to kill party executives and NU ulemas on East Java's Madura island.
Asmuni's slaying and the reported death threats have prompted the NU's youth wing, Ansor, to deploy members of its paramilitary group Banser to guard the houses of NU clerics across East Java.
But they were warned against reacting violently to the threats.