FORGOTTEN VETERAN: SUUD RUSLI

This is a true story about a former member of Indonesian Navy Elite Forces, Suud Rusli that escape from maximum security military prison for twice and open our mind about the capability of the Indonesian Elite Forces.

1st Amphibious Recon Battalion Commander
 Major (Mar.) Freddy Ardianzah (left)
and his men, equipped by HK-417 Assault Rifle (right)

Suud Rusli was a former member of Indonesian Navy elite forces known as Amphibious Recon Battalion or Yontaifib (Indonesian: Batalion Intai Amfibi) as Second Corporal. He and his companion Second Lieutenant Syam Achmad Sanusi was found guilty for assassinate PT. Asaba’s boss Budiharto Angsono in July 2003 and his bodyguard Second Sergeant Edi Siyep who was from another Indonesian Army Elite Anti Insurgency Unit (Satgultor 81 Kopassus). Both Suud and Syam was sentenced to the death by Indonesian Court of Justice. He became a hot topic because of his skill that made him escape from maximum security military prison for twice.

As a former Naval elite forces, Suud and Syam were well trained in jungle and urban warfare, intelligence, excellent in both amphibious and airborne raid, physics, survival, shooting, demolition, martial art, and already passed the special forces psychological standard. In the other words, they have a natural killing instinct, deadly, and highly experienced in many special forces operation.

After he was arrested,  the story begin when the first time Suud managed to escape from his cell, in the naval military prison Gunung Sahari, Jakarta. He felt incomfortable by  human rights violation in the military prison.

Then, he was arrested for the second time in Malang and being hit twice on his legs. Afraid that Suud managed to escape again, the navy sent him to the military prison of the military police headquarter in Cimanggis.

Unfortunately, Suud managed to escape again with his arm and legs were tied down. After the second jailbreak, the national armed forces headquarter formed a task force. It was formed by 30 men from armed forces special forces such as Naval Jalamangkara Detachment (Denjaka), Army Special Forces Commando (Kopassus), and Indonesian Police Mobile Brigade (Brimob). He was arrested in Subang, West Java and sent to 1^st Class Prison in Sidoarjo, East Java. But, what happened with Second Lieutenant Syam Achmad Sanusi? He managed to escaped from prison at a same way that Suud Rusli took. Then, he was shoot dead in Cibeunyi, Banten, by task forces formed by armed forces headquarter after three years in exile.