Police issue licenses for 70 firearms for prosecutors

Police issue licenses for 70 firearms for prosecutors

Abdul Khalik, Jakarta

Police have licensed 70 prosecutors across the country to carry
firearms for self-defense following the murder of prosecutor
Ferry Silalahi in Palu, Central Sulawesi, on May 26.

National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Paiman said on Friday
that the Attorney General's Office (AGO) had asked the police to
authorize the carrying of firearms by its prosecutors, whose
lives were often in danger due to the cases they were handling.

"We agree to issue licenses to 70 prosecutors nationwide. It
depends on the AGO to decide which prosecutors will be armed as
it knows better which prosecutors need to defend themselves,"
said Paiman.

He said the AGO would finance the purchase of the firearms out
of its own budget, while the police would issue licenses and
provide training.

Paiman said each regional police headquarters would train
prosecutors in their respective areas to make sure that they knew
how to use firearms properly.

He added that even though after prosecutors were armed, the
police would continue to provide protection to prosecutors in
Palu and other conflict areas.

Ferry, 46, was shot dead shortly after 10 p.m. on May 26
in his car outside a house on Jl. Swadaya in Tana Modindi, South
Palu, shortly after he attended an evening church service there
along with his wife, Yulia.

The murder prompted the national police to assign officers to
guard prosecutors and judges in Palu and other conflict areas.

Palu is about 200 kilometers from Poso, an area that has
recently experienced a string of attacks by unidentified gunmen.

Ferry had been working in Palu for over a year and had dealt
with dozens of cases involving corruption and terrorism.

He had prosecuted three suspected terrorists, Firmansyah,
Fajri and Aang Hasanuddin, in Palu.

Firmansyah and Fajri were sentenced to five years for aiding
and abetting Bali bombing suspect, Achmad Roichan, while Aang was
jailed for three years for not informing police of the activities
of the other two.

Ferry was also in charge of the team of prosecutors that was
to handle a major corruption case involving Ambo Dalle, the
director of the Central Sulawesi village cooperative center,
which involved billions of rupiah.

Police are now trying to find out the motive behind the
murder. They said that it was possible that the murder was linked
to cases Ferry had handled or was handling.

Police said Friday that they had arrested a man suspected of
being involved in Ferry's murder. The man, identified only by his
initial "E", was arrested on Tuesday night in Ambibabo, Parigi
Moutong, some 150 kilometers north of Palu.

National Police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar said on Friday that a
suspect identified as Emil, a former tailor, had been undergoing
interrogation by the Central Sulawesi Police since Wednesday.

"We are still trying to find out the role this man played in
the shooting and who is behind him. We have also been analyzing
all the cases that have been handled by Ferry, and are currently
trying to connect them with his murder," said Da'i.