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Police Closing in on ‘False’ Mesuji Video Suspects: Source
Jakarta Globe | January 08, 2012

Retired two-star Gen. Saurip Kadi could be named as a suspect over a video of an alleged massacre in Mesuji shown to legislators. (Antara Photo) Retired two-star Gen. Saurip Kadi could be named as a suspect over a video of an alleged massacre in Mesuji shown to legislators. (Antara Photo)
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Comments

jokoku
7:48pm Jan 8, 2012

What you see is not always what you get.


-Lauren-
4:52pm Jan 8, 2012

I'm worried about Article 157 of the criminal code, which makes it an offence to publish or broadcast spiteful or insulting messages. By that clause, freedom of expression in the media could be seriously curtailed. This is an obviously repressive piece of legislation. By all means charge these guys for creating a fake crime if in fact they did do that, but this Article 157 shouldn't even be in the legislature. It is articles like this that instigate censorship, particularly handy to the religious with their tedency to offence.

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The National Police may be preparing to name a retired general as a suspect in relation to the alleged spreading of false information over killings in Lampung and South Sumatra, a police source said on Saturday.

An officer close to the investigation said a team was focused on finding violations of Articles 157 and 220 of the Criminal Code allegedly committed by “people who came and presented a video of alleged violent acts in Lampung and South Sumatra to the House of Representatives [DPR].”

On Dec. 14, farmers, from the Megoupak area of Lampung’s Tulang Bawang district, accompanied by a retired general, Saurip Kadi, met with the House of Representatives Commission III, which oversees legal affairs. Besides relating the horrifying tale, the farmers showed what they said was video evidence of several murders. The killings are alleged to have been carried out by hooded men clad in black, paramilitaries hired by a plantation company intending to operate in the areas.

“Our team has worked to collect additional testimony and information in preparation to the charges. We also have received a signed report from those who knew that footage from the video was taken from separatist conflicts in Pattani, southern Thailand,” the source said. “Saurip Kadi is on the list.”

National Police chief of detectives Comr. Gen. Sutarman could not be reached for confirmation, but police spokesman Sr. Comr. Boy Rafli Amar confirmed that police would consider using the Information and Electronic Transaction Law to press charges.

“The video evidence that they presented to the DPR contained false and misleading information. We have no suspects yet but the team will come up with names soon,” he said, declining to confirm if the retired two-star army general Saurip was among them.

Article 157 of the Criminal Code stipulates that anyone who deliberately broadcasts, shows and displays text or images which contain spiteful and insulting messages to provoke reactions from others, are punishable by up to two years in jail and a fine of up to Rp 4,500.

Article 220 states that anyone who falsely reports a crime can be punished with a prison sentence of up to one year and four months.

“If the evidence is already gathered, we can move ahead and add more charges from the Information and Electronic Transaction Law,” the police source said.

Saurip was outraged by allegations disputing the authenticity of a video.  “I know there are critics who say that the video has been edited,” he said at a press conference on Dec. 20. “In time I will explain everything.”

An analysis by the Associated Press was the first to suggest that parts of the recording came from southern Thailand. The report, which was picked up by television channels such as CBS News, noted that one segment showed a man in military fatigues holding a severed head. The man was speaking in what appeared to be the Pattani dialect of southern Thailand.