Jayapura – Zakarias Talaty, the sole judge at the Jayapura District Court, has rejected a pretrial motion on behalf of senior Papuan journalist Victor Mambor against an Order to Stop Investigation (SP3) issued by the North Jayapura Sectoral Police (Polsek) on the grounds that the SP3 was legitimate due to the lack of witnesses who saw the bomb attack on Mambor's home in March 2023.

Papua Human Rights Lawyers Association (PAHAM Papua) Director Gustaf R. Kawer said that the Papua Regional Police should take the Molotov bomb terror attack seriously by involving the Detachment 88 counter-terrorism unit.

"Not 'trivialising' it by allowing the investigators at the Polsek level to handle such a serious case, because the quality of investigators and the minimal equipment has an impacted on the conclusion that there was a lack of witnesses who saw the incident", Kawer said as quoted in a press release received by Jubi on Tuesday July 9.

Kawer said that the bomb attack against Victor Mambor is a serious matter, because it is categorised as a special criminal offense regulated under the Anti-Terrorism Law and the Law on Firearms and Ammunition Owners.

"The police must take it seriously, because it involves the safety of people and the general public", he said.

The lack of seriousness by the police in handling the case through to the issuance of the SP3, he continued, was repeated by Judge Talapatty in rejecting the pretrial motion without considering the documentary evidence and witnesses that were presented by the plaintiff.

Under the criminal law process, the party authorised to conduct investigations and criminal investigations, to find evidence in a crime is the police, who are given a mandate under the Police Law and the Criminal Procedural Code (KUHAP), not the victim or person who reports a crime, the victim's family or third parties such as non-government organisations (NGOs).

"It's very strange if the burden of proof is placed on the victim or reporter [of the crime]", said Kawer.

According to Kawer, the pretrial ruling will clearly set a bad precedent for solving cases of terror against journalists, never mind with a Molotov bomb attack which had a serious impact on the victim and the general public.

The attack was carried out in the city of Jayapura, an area which in terms of uncovering the case should be very easy to do if the police work "supernaturally".

"This case is certainly a mystery for senior journalists Victor Mambor who is the victim and the general public, how are these cases going to be uncovered if the police and judges treat it as 'trivial'? The general public and press people, of course need police and judges 'who work supernaturally' so that in the future terror bombs like this can be uncovered", he said.

Related

[Translated by James Balowski. Abridged slightly due to repetition. The original title of the article was "Praperadilan SP3 Ditolak, PAHAM Papua: Ini Perkara Serius".]

Source: https://jubi.id/rilis-pers/2024/praperadilan-sp3-ditolak-paham-papua-ini-perkara-serius/