(The case) is still being studied and investigated by the joint team. Once sufficient evidence is found, (the case) will be processed legally.
Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Indonesian Army's joint investigation team is still probing the alleged involvement of a soldier in the shooting of priest Yeremia Zanambani in Intan Jaya district, Papua province, on September 19, 2020.



"(The case) is still being studied and investigated by the joint team. Once sufficient evidence is found, (the case) will be processed legally," commander of the Indonesian Army's Military Police Center, Lieutenant General Dodik Widjanarko, said at a press conference here on Thursday.



He said the joint team is yet to find sufficient evidence to raise the case to the investigation phase.



"We have interviewed witnesses and visited the scene of the incident. Of course, we also have looked at the forensic (results) and so on," he added.



To identify a suspect in the shooting, the joint investigation team will need the autopsy of the deceased, which it is yet to receive, he said.



"We don't want to establish the suspect from a guilty person. Of course, we will establish the suspect from the person who has really committed misdeeds," he remarked.



The joint investigation team comprises officers from the Army's Military Police Center (Puspomad), the Army's intelligence staff, the Army's Intelligence Center, and the Army's Legal Directorate, along with a team from the Cendrawasih Regional Military Command XVII, he said.

The team was set up by Army Chief of Staff, General Andika Perkasa, a day after the joint fact-finding team (TGPF) submitted the results of its probe into the shootings in Intan Jaya district to Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs, Mahfud MD.



The alleged involvement of an Army soldier in the shooting of priest Yeremia surfaced after the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) and the joint fact-finding team conducted their investigation in the case.



The probe conducted by the government-sanctioned fact-finding team revealed the involvement of an Army soldier in the September 19, 2020 shooting. However, the team did not rule out the possibility of a third party being involved in the case.

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Translator: Syaiful Hakim/Suharto
Editor: Sri Haryati
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