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Indonesia: A man is acquitted after five months in detention on false charges; no one is held accountable

Asian Human Rights Commission Urgent Appeal - May 26, 2010 (see sample letter below)

Urgent Appeal Update: AHRC-UAU-022-2010

Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has learned that a man who was arrested, badly beaten in custody and detained for more than five months, has been acquitted by the South Jakarta District Court. According to judges, Mr. Aan was arrested and detained on charges based on a fabricated police brief. However no action has been taken against any police officers involved, and a thorough report by the Internal Disciplinary Unit (Propram) is still pending.

Updated information:

According to information from the Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence (KontraS) in Jakarta, Mr. Aan (also known as Mr. Sushandi bin Sukatma) was interrogated in the Artha Graha commercial office Building, Jakarta on 14 December 2009 by the High Commissioner of Police (Kombes) Johny Siahaan, Second Inspector (Ipda) John Wattimanela, and Head of Police Brigadier (Bripka) Obet Tutuarima. He had been arrested on false charges, as reported earlier in UAC-026-2010.

The three police officers were not from the area, but came from the Maluku Regional Police Station, 2500 km away. During the interrogation, a civilian, Mr. Victor B. Laiskodat beat Mr. Aan severely, but the police officers present did not do anything to stop the violence taking place in their custody. The next day, Mr. Aan was brought to the Jakarta Metropolitan Police office and named as a suspect in a drugs possession case; the date of his arrest was falsely recorded as 15 December.

We are told that he was detained by the Jakarta Metro Jaya Police Station for the first 20 days, who then obtained permission for a further 40 days from DKI Jakarta Prosecution Office. Under orders from the prosecution Mr. Aan was detained for 20 more days, and then the prosecution obtained permission from the South Jakarta District Court for a further 30. The rest of his detention was during the trial. When the case was brought before the South Jakarta District Court on Monday 17 May 2010 the judges decided that the drugs charge was fabricated and that Mr. Aan should be acquitted.

The AHRC appreciates the verdict of the judges, but would like to highlight that no compensation has been arranged, and legal actions have been taken against the three police officers who conducted the arbitrary arrest, the investigation and consented to the assault of Mr. Aan. This assault amounts to torture as stipulated in Article 1 of the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. No disciplinary measures have been conducted against the three police officers, even though Mr. Aan's wife filed a complaint to the Internal Disciplinary Unit (Propam) on 29 December 2009, following which the Internal Disciplinary Unit (Propram) started inquiries. No results of this inquiry have been publicized yet.

In response to the judges' verdict, the Head of the Jakarta Metropolitan Police Anti-Narcotics Directorate, Sr. Comr. Anjan Pramuka Putra said "I can assure you no one from here fabricated anything. Propam has checked and cleared us of any fabrication". This is despite an announcement from former head of Propam, Mr. Oegroseno, on 18 February that his unit found several serious code of conduct violations in Aan's case. He was removed from his position shortly after. On 11 March his successor, General Inspectorate of Police Budi Gunawan then stated that no code of conduct violations occurred conducted by the three Maluku police officers.

On March 18, 2010 the National Head of Police, Mr. Bambang Hendarso Danuri, issued a letter ordering the Head of the Internal Disciplinary Unit (Kadiv Propam) to investigate the allegation of violating the Police Code of Conduct. Despite this, the ambiguity of Propam's investigation results, and the acquittal of Mr. Aan, the three police officers still have not been disciplined.

Mr. Aan's wife filed a separate complaint against Mr. Victor Laiskodat half a year ago on December 18, 2009 to the Mobile Investigation (Resmob) Jakarta Metropolitan Police Station and another complaint against the three police officers was filed 10 January to the Criminal Investigation Unit of Jakarta Metropolitan Police Station. No investigation has been launched to this date.

Suggested action:

Please write to the authorities below asking them to ensure that proper legal processes against the three police officers and Mr. Victor Laiskodat are conducted, and for compensation be given to Mr. Aan and his family.

The AHRC has already updated the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention on this case.

Sample letter:

Dear ___________,

Indonesia: A man is acquitted after five months in detention on false charges; no one is held accountable

Name of victim: Mr. Aan

Names of alleged perpetrators:

1. Mr. Victor Laiskodat
2. High Commissioner of the Police (Kombes) Johny Siahaan
3. Second Inspector (Ipda) John Wattimanela
4. Head of Police Brigadier (Bripka) Obet Tutuarima

Place of incident: Artha Graha Building 8th Floor, Jl. Jendral Sudirman Kav. 52-53 Senayan, Jakarta Selatan, Indonesia 12190

I am writing to voice my appreciation for the South Jakarta District Court's decision to acquit Mr. Aan, who was arrested and detained for fabricated drugs possession case on May 17 2010, after five months of arbitrary detention.

However I would also like to express my disappointment that no legal or disciplinary action has been taken against the three police officers alleged to have arbitrarily arrested, detained, and imposed false charges against Mr. Aan. It is also strongly believed that the three police officers committed torture by consenting to assault conducted by one Mr. Victor Laiskodat against Mr. Aan during his interrogation.

Although the National Head of Police Mr. Bambang Hendarso Danuri issued a letter in March 2010, asking the Head of Internal Disciplinary Unit (Propam) to investigate this case, no outcome has been announced.

Mr. Aan's wife filed a complaint to police regarding the assault conducted by Mr. Victor Laiskodat in December last year, but no investigation has been conducted since then, and the case has not been brought before a court. I am also concerned to hear that the former head of Propam, Mr. Oegroseno, was removed from his position shortly after announcing that his unit had found several serious code of conduct violations in Aan's case; less than a month later his successor General Inspectorate of Police Budi Gunawan stated that no such code of conduct violations had taken place. I believe that this is a matter for close attention and investigation.

I urge you to take all necessary means to ensure Mr. Victor Laiskodat, as well as the three police officers, are punished according to the law for the crimes they have allegedly committed. I would like to emphasize that what has been done by the police officers is not merely a violation of the Indonesian National Police Code of Conduct but of international human rights standards, according to UN conventions. In light of this, serious investigation and proper punishment are needed, instead of the simple imposition of disciplinary punishment for the perpetrators.

Indonesia has ratified several international human rights instruments including International Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT) which obliges the government to ensure that torture, arbitrary arrest and detention, or any other human rights violations are punished. Moreover, several national laws have been enacted to promote and protect the basic rights of all who reside within its territory. It is the unavoidable obligation, therefore, of the Indonesian authorities to ensure that Mr. Aan's case is investigated and that the perpetrators are punished in accordance with national and international law. Extensive compensation must also swiftly be arranged for the victim for the rights violations perpetrated by Indonesian state actors.

I am looking forward to your immediate intervention into this case.

Yours sincerely,

Please send your letters to:

1.Mr. Irjen Pol Wahyono
Chief of the Jakarta Metropolitan Police
Kepolisian Daerah Khusus Ibu Kota Jakarta Raya
Polda Metro Jaya
Jalan Sudirman Kavling 55
Jakarta Selatan
INDONESIA
Tel: +62 21 5234262?
Fax: +62 21 5234051

2. Mr. D. Andhi Nirwanto, S.H., M.M
Head of DKI Jakarta Provincial Prosecutor Office
Jl. HR Rasuna Said No. 2 Jakarta Selatan
INDONESIA
Tel: +62 21 525 4128, +62 21 526 5722

3. Mr. Setia Untung Arimuladi, S.H., M.Hum
Head of South Jakarta Prosecutor Office
Jl. Rambai No. 1 Kebayoran Baru Jakarta Selatan
INDONESIA
Telp: +62 21 720 8623, +62 21 722 0987

4. Mr. Adnan Pandu Praja
Chairman of the national police commission (Kompolnas)
Jl. Tirtayasa VII No. 20 Komplek PTIK Jakarta Selatan
INDONESIA
Tel: +62 21 739 2352
Fax: +62 21 739 2317

5. Mr. Irjen Pol Budi Gunawan
Head of Internal Disciplinary Unit
Indonesian National Police Headquarters
Jl. Trunojoyo No. 3
Jakarta Selatan
INDONESIA
Tel: +62 21 721 8012
Fax: +62 21 720 7277
Email: polri@polri.go.id

6. Mr. Patrialis Akbar
Minister of Justice and Human Rights
JI. H.R. Rosuna Said Kav. 6-7
Kuningan, Jakarta Selatan
INDONESIA
Fax: +62 21 525 3095

7. Dr. Ir. Kuntoro Mangkusubroto
Office of The Anti Judicial Mafia Task Force (Satgas)
PO Box 9949
Jakarta 10 000
INDONESIA

8. Mr. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
President of Republic of Indonesia
Presidential Palace,
Jl. Medan Merdeka Utara Jakarta Pusat 10010
INDONESIA
Fax: +62 21 231 4138, 345 2685, 345 7782
Tel: +62 21 384 5627, ext. 1003
Email: mallarangeng@yahoo.com

9. Mr. Beny K Harman
Chairman of Commission one of The House of Representative
(Komisi III DPR RI)
Jl. Gatot Subroto No. 6 Jakarta
INDONESIA
Fax: +62 21 5715566
Tel: +62 21 5715569

Thank you.

Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ua@ahrc.asia)

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