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)