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4	Key witness in Theys case shot by Kopassus officer
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14 Mei 2002 01:19:47

Key witness in Theys case shot by Kopassus officer

According to reliable sources in Japayura, one of the key witnesses in the Theys assassination case was shot at and injured yesterday evening by a Kopassus officer. Fortunately, the man was able to escape and fled into hiding. It has now been confirmed that he is in safe protection.

The victim in this outrage is Yemet Imowi, who worked as a casual employee at the Kopassus Tribuana base in Hamadi, near Jayapura. He testified during the course of police investigations not long after the death of Theys that he saw Aristoteles Masuko, the driver of Theys's car, enter the
Kopassus base shortly after his boss had been abducted. The car was ambushed as Theys Eluay was on his way home from the Kopassus base on 10 November last year but the driver managed to escape. The testimony of this witnesss is therefore crucial in confirming that the driver did indeed go into the base, placing the onus on Kopassus to account for the driver's disappearance.

TAPOL sources confirm that yesterday's shooting outrage was perpetrated in a very public place by Sgt Yani from Kopassus at 8.30 pm on Friday, 10 May. Yani tried to stop Yemet Imowi as he was leaving a shop and opened fire, but the victim managed to escape.

Some weeks ago Yemet Imowi was asked by military investigators into the case to go to Jakarta, apparently for further questioning, but he refused to go, fearing for his safety.

Three and possibly more Kopassus officers will face charges for the 'taking of Theys's life', according to the report of the KPN which completed its investigations on 1 May. They will also face charges of 'insubordination', which will protect other Kopasus officers from being implicated in the crime. The KPN failed to deal with the crucially important question of who masterminded the crime and what the motive was.

This grave shooting incident shows that Kopassus officers will stop at nothing to protect themselves against charges of involvement in the killing of the Papuan leader and in particular to eliminate evidence about what happened to Theys's driver. The incident also places other witnesses in danger, meaning that the question of witness protection needs to be seriously addressed.