Police sued over journalist's murder

Police sued over journalist's murder

JAKARTA: The Independent Journalist Alliance (AJI) has sued
the government, police and the Indonesian military (TNI) for not
prosecuting Second Adj. Insp. Edy Wuryanto, the alleged murderer
of former Bernas journalist Muhammad "Udin" Syafiudin.

AJI and the South East Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA) submitted
the case on Tuesday to the South Jakarta District Court, seeking
Rp 1 billion (US$112,000) in financial compensation.

Udin, a journalist from Bernas daily was killed on Aug. 16,
1996 after writing about alleged corruption by government
officials.

A civilian, Dwi Sumadji (Iwik) had previously reported that he
witnessed Edy Wiryanto beating Udin.

However the police instead arrested Iwik, as a suspect in the
murder. Iwik was later released due to a lack of evidence.

The South Jakarta Court judges had urged AJI and the police to
negotiate a settlement over the matter, but AJI stood firm with
its desire to see justice carried out. -- Antara