Novel Baswedan

Novel Baswedan (born 22 June 1977) is an Indonesian investigator working for the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) and a former officer of the Indonesian Police (Polri).

Novel Baswedan
Baswedan in 2018, after the acid attack
Born (1977-06-22) 22 June 1977
Semarang, Central Java, Indonesia
NationalityIndonesian
OrganizationCorruption Eradication Commission (2007–present)[lower-alpha 1]
Indonesian Police (1998–2014)
FamilyAbdurrahman Baswedan (grandfather)
Anies Baswedan (cousin)

Originating from Semarang, Baswedan underwent police education and joined the police force in 1998, where he served in Bengkulu. In 2005, he left the organization and later joined KPK as an investigator. Baswedan was involved in several high-profile cases and was arrested by the Indonesian Police for some time. He was assaulted in 2017 through acid throwing, in a case that drew major national attention.

Early life and education

Baswedan was born in Semarang, Central Java, on 22 June 1977.[1] During his early education, his family's economic situation necessitated him to work as a construction worker while studying in junior high school, though he had reportedly desired to become a police officer from his youth.[2] After graduating from highschool in Semarang, he initially intended to enroll at a university in Surakarta, but cancelled it due to financial reasons and he instead joined the Police Academy.[3] He graduated from the academy, and joined the police force, in 1998.[1]

Career

Police officer

After his graduation, Baswedan was assigned to Bengkulu, where he was involved in a number of cases including a forestry and an illegal gambling case.[2] In 2004, he was promoted to head of the provincial police's criminal investigation agency.[4] Four days after his promotion, an incident occurred where police officers under his command abused suspects in a theft case - Baswedan was investigated for ethical violations and later received a reprimand, though he remained in his office until October 2005.[4] He was then reassigned to the criminal investigation agency for the central police headquarters.[5]

KPK

In 2007, Polri's headquarters assigned Baswedan to the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK).[6] At KPK, Baswedan handled several high-profile cases, including the arrest of Muhammad Nazaruddin for graft related to the 2011 Southeast Asian Games, a bribery case during the election of a deputy governor for Bank Indonesia, bribery of Constitutional Court chief justice Akil Mochtar, and others.[7]

Following a KPK investigation of alleged corruption within the police, which named a police general as suspect, Baswedan was investigated by the police in retaliation.[8] On 5 October 2012, police officers (from Bengkulu) went to the KPK building in order to arrest Baswedan, accusing him of having conducted violence during interrogation procedures in the 2004 theft case.[9] Within hours of the initial attempt, civilian activists formed a human chain around the KPK building in order to prevent police from arresting Baswedan, launched a social media campaign, and held demonstrations which successfully pressured President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to order the ceasing of Baswedan's investigation by the police and allow the police general to be prosecuted by KPK.[8] Baswedan eventually submitted an early retirement from the police force in 2014.[10]

Despite the initial halting, the police announced that Baswedan's investigation had been resumed in February 2015. Novel did not respond to two summons that month (from which KPK's acting president had prohibited Baswedan from complying with) and he was arrested in his home on 1 May 2015.[4] He was briefly detained, but he was released shortly afterwards and by 3 May he was giving interviews criticizing the police's actions, referring to them as a form of revenge.[11] The Indonesian Ombudsman later published a recommendation which named maladministrative practices by the police during Baswedan's investigation, which included falsification of documents and deviation from procedure.[12]

2017 attack and aftermath

On 11 April 2017, Baswedan was walking home from morning prayers at his local mosque in North Jakarta when two men threw acid at his face.[13] The attack took place during a high-profile investigation into corruption in the Electronic Identity Card (e-KTP) project, which involved Speaker of the People's Representative Council Setya Novanto and other senior politicians.[14] The attack left him blinded in one eye, and he underwent treatment in Singapore.[15]

After around three months of police investigations yielded no results, National Police Chief Tito Karnavian agreed to form a joint investigative team with KPK, following a meeting with President Joko Widodo.[16][17] Baswedan returned from medical treatment in February 2018,[18] and by July 2018 he had returned to his job as head of the investigation task force.[19] Baswedan later said police were "not really serious in handling [his] case".[20] After over two years of investigation, Widodo on 1 November 2019 gave a one-month deadline to newly appointed police chief Idham Azis to solve the Baswedan case.[21] In late December that year, two active police officers, Rahmat Kadir Mahulette and Ronny Bugis, were arrested under suspicion of launching the assault.[22] Baswedan said the two officers were scapegoats acting under orders from their superiors.[23] At a court session on 11 June 2020, a state prosecutor recommended a one-year prison term for both suspects, The demand was widely condemned as being too lenient.[24] On the night of 14 July 2020, North Jakarta District Court sentenced Mahulette to two years, while Bugis was jailed for 18 months.[25]

On 28 August 2020, Baswedan was tested positive for COVID-19 without having any symptoms.[26]

Family

Baswedan is the grandson of journalist and politician Abdurrahman Baswedan, and is the first cousin of 17th Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan.[27] He is married to Rina Emilda, and the couple has five children.[28]

Notes
  1. Initially assigned to KPK as part of police duties, but later left the police force and fully joined KPK

References
  1. "Novel Baswedan". VIVA (in Indonesian). Archived from the original on 28 December 2019. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
  2. "Penyidik Andal KPK Novel Baswedan Pernah Jadi Kuli Bangunan Saat SMP". Kumparan (in Indonesian). 13 December 2017. Archived from the original on 28 December 2019. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
  3. Sukmasari, Radian Nyi (28 December 2019). "Novel Baswedan, Penyidik KPK Korban Teror Air Keras yang Pernah Jadi Kuli". haibunda.com (in Indonesian). Archived from the original on 28 December 2019. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
  4. "Mengingat Kembali Kasus Novel Baswedan". KOMPAS.com (in Indonesian). 1 May 2015. Archived from the original on 28 December 2019. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
  5. Kami, Indah Mutiara (11 April 2017). "Profil dan Kiprah Novel Baswedan Berantas Korupsi Kelas Kakap". detiknews (in Indonesian). Archived from the original on 1 January 2020. Retrieved 1 January 2020.
  6. Kurniawati, Endri (2 November 2019). "Novel Baswedan Berencana Keluar dari KPK, Jika..." Tempo (in Indonesian). Retrieved 1 January 2020.
  7. Widhana, Dieqy Hasbi (11 April 2017). "Kasus-Kasus Besar dan Jenderal yang Ditangani Novel Baswedan". tirto.id (in Indonesian). Archived from the original on 1 January 2020. Retrieved 1 January 2020.
  8. Rowley, Chris; Rama, Marie dela (2017). The Changing Face of Corruption in the Asia Pacific: Current Perspectives and Future Challenges. Elsevier. p. 260. ISBN 978-0-08-101230-7.
  9. "Kasus Novel Baswedan Ditengarai Janggal". Tempo. 9 October 2012. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  10. Bernie, Mohammad (2 January 2020). "Mengapa Penganiaya Novel Baswedan Semestinya Dijerat UU Tipikor". tirto.id (in Indonesian). Archived from the original on 14 January 2020. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  11. "Kritik pedas Novel Baswedan setelah ditangkap Bareskrim Polri". Merdeka (in Indonesian). 4 May 2015. Archived from the original on 14 January 2020. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  12. "Ombudsman Ungkap Manipulasi Polisi atas Kasus Novel Baswedan". liputan6.com (in Indonesian). 22 December 2015. Archived from the original on 14 January 2020. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  13. Karensa, Edo (11 April 2017). "KPK Investigator Novel Suffers Burns to His Face After Acid Attack by Unknown Men". Jakarta Globe. Archived from the original on 14 January 2020. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  14. "Acid attack graft-buster: I'm blind. Indonesian justice isn't". South China Morning Post. 24 August 2018. Archived from the original on 14 January 2020. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  15. "Indonesia's Top Graft Buster Novel Baswedan Talks to TIME". Time. 13 June 2017. Archived from the original on 12 June 2019. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  16. Sohuturon, Martahan (1 August 2017). "Kasus Novel Macet, 'Noda Hitam' Polri di Tangan Tito". CNN Indonesia (in Indonesian). Archived from the original on 14 January 2020. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  17. "Beda Persepsi Polri dan KPK soal Tim Gabungan Kasus Novel Baswedan Halaman all". KOMPAS.com (in Indonesian). 2 August 2017. Archived from the original on 14 January 2020. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  18. Kahfi, Kharishar (22 February 2018). "Novel Baswedan returns home". The Jakarta Post. Archived from the original on 14 January 2020. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  19. Agus, Feri (25 July 2018). "Novel Baswedan Kembali Bekerja di KPK". CNN Indonesia (in Indonesian). Archived from the original on 14 January 2020. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  20. "Indonesian graft buster probes acid attack on himself as police draw blank". Reuters. 24 August 2018. Archived from the original on 14 January 2020. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  21. Murti, Markus Wisnu (1 November 2019). "Jokowi Gives One Month to Solve Novel Baswedan's Attack Case". Tempo. Archived from the original on 14 January 2020. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  22. Murti, Markus Wisnu (27 December 2019). "Novel Baswedan Attackers Confirmed as Active Police Members". Tempo. Archived from the original on 14 January 2020. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  23. "Novel Baswedan Ungkap Cara untuk Temukan Dalang Teror Air Keras". Tempo (in Indonesian). 5 January 2020. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  24. "Tuntutan Ringan Pelaku Penyiraman Air Keras ke Novel Baswedan". Kumparan.com (in Indonesian). 12 June 2020. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  25. Adjie, Moch. Fiqih Prawira (16 July 2020). "Novel Baswedan's attackers found guilty, sentenced to two years, 18 months in prison". The Jakarta Post. Retrieved 19 July 2020.
  26. Detikcom Team (28 August 2020). "Penyidik KPK Novel Baswedan Positif Corona". Detik.com (in Indonesian). Retrieved 28 August 2020.
  27. "Ini Silsilah Hubungan Antara Anies dan Novel Baswedan". Rakyatku News (in Indonesian). 25 February 2018. Archived from the original on 15 January 2020. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  28. "Rina Emilda, Perempuan Teguh di Balik Sosok Novel Baswedan". IDN Times (in Indonesian). 21 April 2019. Archived from the original on 14 January 2020. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
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