Dicky Christanto, Jakarta – Last Thursday's testimony by three-star police general Susno Duadji in the trial of the murder of Nasruddin Zulkarnain, has broken the public's trust in the police while hinting that officers were pursuing other agenda in the case, experts say.
In his testimony, former chief detective Susno told the court his deputy at the time, Insp. Gen. Hadiatmoko, was in charge of the murder investigation, in which former chief of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) Antasari Azhar is the key defendant.
Susno at the same time accused Hadiatmoko of lying under oath. "It was toward the end of the investigation that I knew Hadiatmoko chaired the team supervising the investigation," Susno said.
In previous testimony, Hadiatmoko denied playing any role in the investigation when testifying against Sr. Comr. Wiliardi Wizard, another defendant in the case. Wiliardi had said it was Hadiatmoko who forced him to admit that Antasari had ordered Nasruddin's murder.
Hadiatmoko denied the allegation at the time, saying he could not issue such an order as he shared no responsibility and had no interest in the investigation.
Susno also said Hadiatmoko did not report to him, and he later learnt National Police chief Bambang Hendarso Danuri had established a team to establish Antasari's motives to strengthen the case.
Susno's testimony was seen by commentators as a blatant attack on his colleagues, with Bambang ordering an investigation into whether Susno broke police procedures by testifying, while limiting his movement by revoking all privileges and access.
A special police terrorist task force has also reportedly surrounded Susno's house. National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Edward Aritonang, however, countered that Susno was actually aware of the investigations in the case.
"As chief detective, Susno received progress reports on the investigation at every stage. It comes as a surprise to hear him claim he knew nothing about the investigation," he said.
Legal expert Chaerul Umam said Susno's testimony was apparently used by defense lawyers to publicly claim there was an ulterior motive to the investigation of Antasari.
"Susno's testimony was designed to show the public that the investigation may not have been above board. The testimony was meant to highlight the National Police chief and other officials as the ones responsible," he told The Jakarta Post.
Echoing Chaerul's analysis, criminologist Adrianus Meliala added that Susno's testimony should be seen as part of the defense team's strategy to inform the public that there were irregularities behind the investigation.
"The police leaders should prepare themselves for another surprise in this case that might once again come from Susno," he said.
Adrianus said the police should be ready for Susno to air more dirty laundry, as he was privy to a lot of police secrets.
When asked what could have been the hidden agenda behind Susno's testimony, Neta S. Pane of the Indonesian Police Watch said Danuri's leadership could be the actual target.
"This whole mess within the police organization shows the current National Police chief's inability to lead the force. I'm afraid this may lead to Danuri being replaced," he said.