Indonesian policeman accused of colleague's murder was not acquitted in November 2022

  • This article is more than one year old.
  • Published on December 7, 2022 at 12:10
  • Updated on December 9, 2022 at 04:46
  • 2 min read
  • By AFP Indonesia
Multiple videos have racked up more than a million views after they were shared in Facebook posts that falsely claimed an Indonesian court has acquitted a policeman accused of murdering his colleague in November 2022. A spokesperson for a Jakarta court which hears the case told AFP that the trial is still ongoing, as of December 7, 2022.

"Finally Bharada E Is Officially Acquitted in Brigadier J Case," reads the Indonesian-language caption of this video, posted on Facebook on November 13, 2022.

Text superimposed on the video repeats the claim in the caption.

"Bharada E" refers to Indonesian police officer Richard Eliezer, who is accused of killing his colleague, fellow policeman Nofriansyah Yosua Hutabarat -- also known as Brigadier J -- in July 2022.

The five-minute, 26-second footage, which contains various news clips of Eliezer's trial, has been viewed more than 610,000 times since.

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Screenshot of the misleading post, taken on November 30, 2022

During the trial, Eliezer also acts as a "collaborator of justice", cooperating with justice authorities by giving testimony about the murder case that has named his boss, Ferdy Sambo, as a suspect -- and the mastermind -- of the killing.

Sambo, former head of internal affairs for Indonesia's national police, was accused of ordering Eliezer to shoot Yosua, who is also his subordinate, before shooting the wounded victim again himself.

Nine other people, including Sambo's wife, his driver and other police officers, are also on trial for the murder case.

A similar claim also circulated in other videos posted on Facebook, such as here, here, here and here, garnering more than 718,000 views.

However, the claim is false.

Ongoing trial

Contacted by AFP on November 30, 2022, the South Jakarta District Court spokesman Djuyamto said: "The trial of Richard Eliezer started on October 17, 2022" and "is still ongoing".

"It's expected that the verdict will be issued in mid-January," he added.

As of December 7, 2022, the South Jakarta District Court's website shows the status of Eliezer's trial is still listed as ongoing.

The court is set to hear witnesses' testimony in a hearing on December 7, 2022.

Below is a screenshot of Eliezer's trial schedule on the South Jakarta District Court's website

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Screenshot of Eliezer's trial schedule on the South Jakarta District Court's website

AFP has debunked other false claims related to Yosua's murder case here and here.

December 9, 2022 This story has been updated to correct a typo in the third paragraph.

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