Yuliasri Perdani, Jakarta – Indonesian Military (TNI) commander Adm. Agus Suhartono said that soldiers responsible for the recent killing of four detainees at Cebongan Prison in Sleman, Yogyakarta, could only be tried before a military tribunal.
"The law clearly states that [such a case] must be heard in a military court, so we will work according to the law," Agus said on Monday. He also denied speculation that he was likely to issue an order that would allow the soldiers to be tried in a civilian court.
Agus added, however, that all TNI personnel implicated in the case, including middle-ranking officers, could be held accountable for the incident. "Let's see the legal process through. If it is found that [the attack] was sanctioned by their superiors, we will follow that up."
On Thursday last week, the Army investigation revealed that nine soldiers assigned to the Army's Special Forces (Kopassus) Group 2 in Kartosuro, Central Java, carried out the unauthorized attack in retaliation for the slaying of former Kopassus commando First Sgt. Heru Santoso, allegedly at the hands of the four detainees, in a Yogyakarta cafe on March 19.
Over the weekend, the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) revealed its finding that senior officers from the TNI and Kopassus met with then Yogyakarta Police chief Brig. Gen. Sabar Rahardjo on the night after Heru's murder.
Sabar confirmed on Monday that he had met with officials from the Military Command Post (Korem) 072/Pamungkas in Yogyakarta to discuss the measures to be taken in response to Heru's death.
Sabar said they were concerned about a possible repeat of the scenes in Ogan Komering Ulu, South Sumatra, last month, when TNI personnel torched the local police headquarters following the death of a soldier at the hands of a traffic cop.
"We discussed nothing other than what measures needed to be taken by the police [in handling the four detainees]," he told reporters at National Police headquarters in Jakarta.
In the wake of the prison murders, TNI headquarters decided to remove Diponegoro Regional Military Command (Kodam) chief Maj. Gen. Hardiono Saroso.
The National Police likewise decided to dismiss Sabar as Yogyakarta Police chief, replacing him with Brig. Gen. Haka Astana. Sabar has been assigned to fill the position left by Haka as head of the National Police's human resources division.
In a press conference after the swearing-in ceremony on Monday, National Police chief Gen. Timur Pradopo denied speculation that Sabar was fired for his poor handling of the murder case. Timur did say, however, that Sabar might be subjected to a future investigation on the prison raid. "It is all part of accountability."
A middle-ranking officer with the National Police revealed that investigators on the prison case had strong evidence that members of Kopassus had committed the execution-style killings of the four detainees.
The officer said the assailants took with them four cell phones belonging to prison guards. "The police located the cellular phones inside the Kandang Menjangan Kopassus headquarters in Kartosuro, Central Java. The perpetrators could not deny this evidence, which was also backed up by the prison officers' testimony," the source said.
When The Jakarta Post sought to clarify this information with National Police detectives chief Comr. Gen. Sutarman, he declined to respond. Timur also denied receiving reports about the information.
Soon after being sworn in, Haka pledged to crack down on gangsters and thugs in Yogyakarta. The four murdered detainees were allegedly members of a gang who ran a drug-dealing operation in the city.
"I will use a cultural approach as instructed by the sultan," Haka said, referring to Yogyakarta Governor Hamengkubuwono X.