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Komnas HAM to verify, compare autopsy of six slain FPI members as probe continues

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Jakarta Post - December 19, 2020

Jakarta – The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) will seek further confirmation from experts regarding the gunshot wounds that reportedly killed six members of the Islam Defenders Front (FPI) amid an ongoing investigation into the incident.

Komnas HAM commissioner Beka Ulung Hapsara said the investigation team formed by the commission had questioned forensic doctors who had examined the bodies of the six FPI members and inspect the gunshot wounds that allegedly killed them during an altercation with the Jakarta Police earlier this month.

"We have asked for information from the forensic doctors and it is similar to the information provided by Bareskrim [the National Police's Criminal Investigation Department]," he said on Saturday as reported by tempo.co.

Komnas HAM said it would consult with experts from universities or medical associations, as well as ask the victims' families about the injuries to complete its investigation.

Another commissioner who leads the investigation team for the case, Choirul Anam, said he had seen photos of the six slain members prior to their autopsy by the National Police's team of doctors.

"We were shown the photos before the procedure [autopsy] and that was the most important position as it was still the original [condition of the body]. We were able to see how many bullet holes [the bodies had] and the bodies' condition," Anam said on Thursday, tribunnews.com reported.

He said the forensics team had given a detailed account of the bodies and their autopsy. "They also showed us the spots that became a topic of public opinion. We also obtained information on the position of the bodies," Anam said.

He added that the investigation team was still gathering information from various sources and comparing them before reaching a conclusion.

The police have completed the autopsy of the six bodyguards of FPI leader and controversial cleric Rizieq Shihab and handed over them to their families. The bodies were laid to rest last week. Bareskrim reported that the six bodies bore 18 bullet holes in total.

"Generally, there were 18 gunshot wounds and no other signs of violence found on the bodies," Bareksrim's general crimes director Brig. Gen. Andi Rian S. Djajadi said on Friday.

Andi declined to provide further details on the autopsy results, saying that they were based on the reports of forensic personnel.

The six men were killed in the early hours of Dec. 7 at Kilometer 50 of the Jakarta-Cikampek toll road after an alleged clash with police officers, who reportedly opened fire and killed them.

The men were reportedly escorting Rizieq to a location for a private family gathering that morning. The police were tailing them after receiving a tip that Rizieq planned to evade questioning.

Rizieq had been named as a suspect for allegedly violating health protocols by holding gatherings at his house and FPI's headquarters in Petamburan, Central Jakarta, not long after his return from self-imposed exile in Saudi Arabia last month.

The National Police conducted a reconstruction of the shooting on Monday as part of its investigation.

They announced that the FPI members had attacked first and opened fire at the police. Two FPI members reportedly died in the shootout while another four were shot dead after trying to grab the officers' weapons.

The FPI disputed the police's reconstruction of the incident, saying that none of its members had firearms with them and further alleged that they had been abused and shot at close range. (ami)

Source: https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2020/12/19/komnas-ham-to-verify-compare-autopsy-of-six-slain-fpi-members-as-probe-continues.htm

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