Nurdin Hasan, Banda Aceh – Police on Sunday said they had arrested three men suspected of involvement in the March shooting of an Aceh National Party (PNA) legislative candidate.

Aceh Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Gustav Leo said the arrests involved Densus 88, the National Police, the Aceh Police and the South Aceh district police in the districts of South Aceh and Southwest Aceh on Friday.

PNA politician Faisal, 35, was shot dead in the Ginting Mancang area of South Aceh on March 2. Police reportedly found 42 gunshots on the right side of his vehicle and treated the attack as an election-related murder.

The first man arrested was identified by police only as N.Y., 35. He was detained at a shop in Blang Blahdeh village, Meukek sub-district. Police believe he fired the shots that killed Faisal. Police then arrested U.Y., 29, in Pante Cermin village in the Babahrot subdistrict of Southwest Aceh.

"The suspect was in charge of monitoring the victim and the situation on the ground on the night that the shooting took place," Gustav told the Jakarta Globe.

Police subsequently arrested a third suspect, identified as R.M., 34, later that evening at the Lhok Bengkuang village of Tapaktuan subdistrict in South Aceh, based on information from the two suspects who had been arrested earlier.

Police seized an AK 101 assault rifle and ammunition from Lhok Bengkuang. "The three suspects did not put up a fight," Gustav said.

The case was one of a number of other cases of violence in Aceh ahead of the April 9 legislative elections.

Sporadic violence has dented Aceh's political development as rival parties formed by former separatist combatants occasionally settled their differences by targeted killings.

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/three-arrests-march-murder-aceh-election-candidate/