Baswedan`s wife calls on president to form joint fact-finding team

Rina Emilda, wife of Novel Baswedan, senior investigator of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), has called on President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) to set up a joint fact-finding team to investigate an acid attack against her husband.

Emilda told the press here on Monday that she had requested to meet the president to discuss the attack on her husband.

"First, he (Baswedan) hopes that the president would establish a joint fact-finding team to collect facts about the acid attack objectively," Emilda told the press here on Monday.

Second, he hoped that such a terror attack would never happen to any legal enforcer in future, Emilda stated.

During the press conference, she was accompanied, among others, by Chairman of Muhammadiyahs Youth Wing Dahnil Anzar Simanjuntak, human right activist Haris Azhar, Executive Director of the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute (LBH) Alghifari Aqsa, and deputy coordinator of human right NGO Kontras Putri Kanesia Novel.

Simanjuntak noted that the presidential palace is yet to respond to Emildas request to meet the Head of State.

"We are conveying an oral statement to the palace, a request for the president to be willing to meet Sister Emil(da)," he remarked.

He noted that he had earlier contacted Minister/State Secretary Pratikno regarding the request for the meeting.

Johan Budi, spokesman of Jokowi, later reportedly said that Jokowi wanted to receive not only Emilda but also the mother of Baswedan.

The Palace had requested a letter of request for the meeting, and Emilda sent the letter on Aug 21, he explained.

Baswedan, a 40-year-old retired police officer, had joined the anti-graft agency in 2007 and since then has been frequently terrorized and attacked.

A fatal attack against him took place on the morning of April 11, 2017, when he was heading home after performing Fajr, or the Dawn prayer, at a mosque nearby when two motorcyclists hurled acid on his face that injured his eyes, particularly the left eye.

His attackers escaped and are still at large, while Baswedan is currently being treated in a hospital in Singapore. He has lost his left eye and had to undergo a major surgery.

When the acid attack took place, Baswedan was handling several high-profile corruption cases, including a mega corruption case related to the e-ID card project allegedly involving the countrys political elites.

Source: ANTARA