Yuwono Susetyo remains silent on kidnapping

Ainur R. Sophiaan, The Jakarta Post, Surabaya

Yuwono Susetyo, chairman of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjungan) in Ngawi, East Java, who was found tied up in a forest in Karanganyar, Central Java, two weeks ago remains silent about his kidnapping and abductors.

Adj. Sr. Comr. Harunantyo, spokesman for the East Java Police, said the police had tried to gain detailed information about the kidnapping but Yuwono, who is undergoing medical treatment at Dr. Sutomo General Hospital in Surabaya, has refused to discuss the incident.

"Yuwono still remains silent and, so far, has refused to give any details about his kidnapping and the kidnappers," he told The Jakarta Post here over the weekend.

He said the police were waiting for the appropriate time to question him.

He added that Yuwono was talkative with relatives who had accompanied him to the hospital over the last two weeks.

Harunantyo said further that Yuwono was also one of nine suspects in the attack on a house belonging to Muhyi Effendy, a member of the Lasjkar Jihad.

Other suspects in the case are, among others, Novar Effendy Suseto, Edi Sunarta, Totok Harsono and Agung Wahyudi, all of whom are in police custody.

Of 102 Lasjkar Jihad members detained by the police, 66 have been released and the remaining 36 will undergo further investigation in connection with the raid on gambling activities during the fasting month of Ramadhan and Yuwono's abduction.

"The police will compare other witnesses' statements with Yuwono's, and if the latter remains silent it will certainly be his loss," he said.

"The police will confront other witnesses with Yuwono's statement, and if the latter remains silent it will certainly be his loss," he said.