Nivell Rayda, Jakarta – An independent investigation team led by the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence, or Kontras, has come to the conclusion that the attack on anti-graft activist Tama Satrya Langkun was well-planned.
Tama, an investigator from the Indonesian Corruption Watch, was brutally beaten by a group of men in Kemang, South Jakarta, on July 8.
Hariz Azhar, a Kontras researcher, said that a couple of men tried to tamper with Tama's motorcycle two weeks before the beating occurred.
"On June 20, two unknown men jumped off the ICW gate at 4 a.m. and tried to mess up Tama's motorcyle. On July 7, Tama received a phone call from an old university friend who told him that a policeman was looking for him," Hariz said.
Shortly after he received the call, a police official, who Hariz identified as Adj. Sr. Comr. S, came to the ICW office with two members of his staff. "Basically, S warned Tama about the possibility of an attack," Hariz said.
Nurcholis, another member of the independent team from the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute (LBH), added that S also revealed that the police were "restless" over ICW's investigation on the suspiciously hefty bank accounts of several police generals.
"According to S, the police were generally restless, especially at the lower levels. He said, 'If you want to catch the fish, don't ruin the pool,'" Nurcholis said. "S also said that 'the Molotov cocktail attacks on the Tempo magazine offices could also happen to ICW.'"
According to the independent team, their findings suggested that Tama had long become a target. "We can conclude that Tama had been made a target for a while. The perpetrators could be part of a clandestine operation or certain rogue elements at the police. But the attack could also be part of a systematic operation based on instructions from top officials," Hariz said.
Tama was one among ICW activists who reported the suspiciously hefty bank accounts of several police generals to the Corruption Eradication Communication (KPK) and the Judicial Mafia Eradication Task Force.
The report became the basis of Tempo magazine's main story on their June 28 edition. Tempo's offices were attacked with Molotov cocktails a week after they published the story.