Special Detachment (Densus) 88 Anti-terror Police shot dead a suspected terrorist named doctor Sunardi in the region Sukoharjo, Central Java on Wednesday (9/3) night. Sunardi is suspected of being part of the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) terrorist network.
Sunardi’s shooting then sparked a polemic. A number of speculations and allegations of the pursuit process that did not comply with the procedure were spread after the law enforcement efforts were carried out.
Police claim that Sunardi’s shooting was carried out according to the rules. He was also named a suspect before being arrested.
“The status of the suspect, the status of SU before the arrest was a suspect in a criminal act of terrorism, was not suspected,” said the Head of the Public Information Bureau (Karopenmas) of the National Police Brigadier General Ahmad Ramadhan to reporters, Friday (11/3).
According to the police, Sunardi is a figure who serves as the emir or leader in the network.
Ramadhan said he played an advisory role. However, he did not elaborate further on when Sunardi joined JI and assumed this task.
Sunardi is also active in the humanitarian organization Hilal Ahmar Society Indonesia (HASI). However, this group is suspected to be an organization wing of JI which actually helps the movement of terror activities.
“The person concerned is an advisor to the emir of JI, and also the person in charge of the Hilal Ahmar Society,” he explained.
HASI, said Ramadhan, is a group that has been designated by a court decision as a banned organization since 2015. This group is part of the funding and sending terrorist combatants to Syria.
His involvement in the group is also one of the reasons Sunardi will be arrested by the authorities the night before he was given the hot lead.
Police version of Shooting Moments
Ramadhan revealed that Sunardi fought the officers when he was about to be arrested. The action taken by the suspect when he was about to be detained was considered a danger to the lives of officers and the public.
The police, said Ramadhan, initially tried to stop the car being driven by the suspect by getting into the car from behind. The officer gave a warning to the suspect to stop his speed.
However, the suspect did not heed the warning and continued to speed up by shaking the car’s steering wheel.
“Or a zigzag movement whose aim is to bring down officers. Then they hit people who pass by,” he said.
The police also fired shots at the suspect’s upper back and lower right hip. The effort was made after the speed of the vehicle had crashed into houses and public vehicles.
During the pursuit, two police officers who served in the detachment bearing the owl symbol were injured and had to be hospitalized.
“Officers took the suspect to the Bhayangkara Polresta Hospital in Surakarta for medical treatment, but the person concerned died while being evacuated,” he explained.
Trigger Doubt
The pursuit that ended in the shooting of Sunardi was a polemic. The Islamic Study and Action Center (ISAC) Surakarta revealed that Sunardi’s family did not receive an arrest warrant nor did Sunardi become a suspect.
The organization which is active in advocating cases of arrests of suspected terrorists also regrets the Densus attempt to shoot Sunardi dead, not paralyze him.
“Is the process of arresting under such circumstances in accordance with the procedure,” said Secretary of ISAC Surakarta, Endro Sudarsono when contacted.
He considered that Sunardi’s ambush was odd, so he advised the family to take legal steps regarding his death.
Families are advised to sue the police for alleged unlawful acts. Given the potential for procedural violations in Sunardi’s arrest.
“(The lawsuit) is in the form of an unlawful act, not a pretrial,” he said.
Gerindra Party politician, Fadli Zon, criticized the actions of the authorities which resulted in the doctor’s death. According to him, a just and civilized humanity is a must. However, he said, what was practiced was just the opposite.
“It should be ‘Just and civilized humanity’, but practice ‘unjust savagery without humanity’. May the late Dr. Sunardi get the best place in the sight of Allah SWT. Amen,” said Fadli retweeting Zubairi’s post.
(mjo/isn)
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