Slain reporter's wife gets lawyers

Slain reporter's wife gets lawyers

YOGYAKARTA: Mrs. Marsiyem, wife of journalist Fuad Muhammad
Syafruddin who was killed by a gang of thugs last month,
complained of police harassment during investigation and
solicited legal help.

Antara quoted Marsiyem as saying that police interrogators
steered their questioning in ways which made her feel cornered
and intruded upon. By contrast, police failed to pay attention to
the question of Syafruddin's work as a journalist.

Marsiyem had asked that a lawyer from the local Legal Aid
Institute accompany her during future questioning. However, the
institute's director, Budi Santoso, said he had set up a team of
seven lawyers to accompany Marsiyem and other relatives of the
journalist.

Police are still investigating the murder, which some believe
was provoked by Udin's critical articles in the Yogyakarta-based
newspaper Bernas. (swe)