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Rising number of fair trial complaints: LBH Jakarta

Jakarta Post - December 16, 2015

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Liza Yosephine, Jakarta – The number of complaints regarding violations of the right to a fair trial has risen in the capital over the past year, according to the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute (LBH Jakarta).

Law enforcement personnel had also regularly violated human rights in carrying out their duties, a member of the group said on Tuesday.

LBH Jakarta director Alghiffari Aqsa said that the institute handled 71 cases arising from a total 431 complaints this year, the highest number of complaints since 2010.

According to Alghiffari around half of the complaints related to unsubstantiated criminalization and framing of suspects, while the remainder included discrimination, ignored reports and the lack of a system to vindicate victims who were falsely arrested.

Alghiffari said that law enforcement personnel often acted in a repressive manner when carrying out their duties, and did not take human rights into consideration.

"There have also been incidents of torture during investigations, as well as suspects and defendants who were denied the right to access legal assistance," he said at a discussion in Jakarta.

He gave the example of the violent dispersal of a labor protest on Oct. 30 that resulted in two victims complaining to LBH that they had been criminalized.

LBH Jakarta handled 39 cases relating to fair trial violations in 2010. The number rose to 49 in 2011 before dropping down to 23 in 2012. The institute handled 32 cases in 2013 and 56 last year.

The institute has released research that claims that rights violations had not only occurred during court proceedings but also during inquiries and investigations into suspects.

Revan Tambunan, a public attorney at LBH, urged the government to move from a "crime control model" to a "due process of law model" in order to protect the human rights of suspects and victims.

"There is also a need to revise the Criminal Code Procedures (KUHAP) to create a preliminary examiner judge to monitor investigations in order to prevent misconduct and acts of torture by investigators," he said.

Revan added that it was highly important to adjust the legal mechanism by which law enforcement personnel obtained evidence. He also stressed that suspects and witnesses' right to legal assistance must be upheld. (rin)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/12/16/rising-number-fair-trial-complaints-lbh-jakarta.html.