Jayapura, Jubi – The Papua Office of the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM Papua) announced nine points from their investigation into the murder and mutilation of four Nduga residents in Mimika Regency.
The Komnas HAM Papua team suspects that two other soldiers of the Raider/20 Ima Jaya Keramo Infantry Brigade were involved in the murder but have not been named as suspects. Komnas HAM Papua also said that they had not been allowed to meet the six Indonesian Military (TNI) suspects.
Head of Komnas Papua Frits Ramandey said on Monday, September 5, 2022, that the points as follows were based on his team’s work on September 2 and 3:
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Komnas HAM Papua met with the XVII Cenderawasih Military Regional Command Chief of Staff and asked the TNI to enforce the law transparently against TNI soldiers suspected of being involved in the murder and mutilation.
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Komnas HAM Papua visited the Mimika Regional General Hospital on September 2. Though the identity of the victims is already known, the Forensic Laboratory has yet to issue the final results of the DNA test.
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Komnas HAM Papua checked with the Mimika Police who handled the case. The Mimika Police has named 10 suspects in the case, namely four civilians and six soldiers of the Raider/20 Ima Jaya Keramo Infantry Brigade. One suspect has not been caught and put on the wanted list, namely Roy or RMH, who is referred to by the police as one of the brains of the murder.
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Komnas HAM Papua had sought testimony from three suspects with civilian backgrounds. The three suspects admitted that the murder, mutilation, and arson were carried out jointly with a number of soldiers of the Raider/20 Ima Jaya Keramo Infantry Brigade.
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Komnas HAM Papua has also visited the Mimika Military Police Sub Detachment to check the progress of the investigation into the six suspected soldiers. The investigation involved investigators from Puspom AD, Pomdam XVII Cenderawasih, and Subdenpom Timika. However, the Komnas HAM Papua team was not allowed to check whether the six suspects were in detention or not, the reason was that the suspects were still undergoing legal proceedings.
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Komnas HAM Papua had not permitted to obtain information from the six suspected soldiers due to the six of them were still undergoing legal proceedings.
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Komnas HAM Papua attended the reconstruction of the murder and mutilation held at the Mimika Police Headquarters on September 3. However, the reconstruction had yet to clearly describe the role of each perpetrator because suspect Roy or RMH had not yet been caught. Several suspects also refused to act out in certain scenes, therefore, certain roles were replaced by other people. According to Komnas HAM Papua, the reconstruction raises the suspicion that two more soldiers of the Raider/20 Ima Jaya Keramo Infantry Brigade were involved in the murder but have not been named as suspects.
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Komnas HAM met with the families of the victims. The victims’ families strongly condemned the murder and mutilation, saying the four victims were civilians, not sympathizers or members of the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) as accused by the police. They also confirmed that one of the victims was the village head in Kenyam. The victims’ families stated they would not take revenge but rather, they asked for transparency in the legal process.
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Komnas HAM Papua is still trying to obtain information from six suspects of the Raider/20 Ima Jaya Keramo Infantry Brigade. Komnas HAM Papua asks the police to also immediately arrest Roy or RMH, and immediately finish the identification process of the victims’ bodies so that the families can hold a proper burial for them.
Confirmed separately, Chief of XVII/Cenderawasih Military Regional Command Maj. Gen. Muhammad Saleh Mustafa said his party would immediately provide access for the Komnas HAM Papua team to investigate the case. “Previously, access was not given because it was still in the preliminary investigation,” Saleh said. (*)