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Indonesia: Trial against victim of torture is ongoing
Asian Human Rights Commission Urgent Appeal - June 24, 2014
Dear friends,
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding another case of torture and the fabrication of charges in Jakarta. The victim was reported to have been taken to an unidentified location and tortured before finally being taken to Jakarta District Police station. His family was not promptly informed on his arrest and detention. The victim was charged with theft and is currently on trial, whilst his torturers remain free.
Case narrative:
Lana Teresa Siahaan of Jakarta Legal Aid Institute (LBH Jakarta) informed the AHRC that Zulfikar was taken away of his dorm in Pasar Rumput by six unidentified police officers at 1 a.m on 1 April 2014. He was arrested along with two other men, Zulkifli and Bahar. Zulfikar was blindfolded with black tape and taken to an unidentified location where he was beaten up and trampled on.
The police seized IDR 10 million (approximately USD 1000) from Zulfikar's dorm and asked for the Private Identification Number (PIN) for his ATM card. No warrant was produced upon the arrest.
Following the arrest, Zulfikar's sister came to the dorm and inquired from the head of the neighbourhood (Ketua RT) as to where the police had taken her brother. The sister visited three police stations in Central Jakarta to find her brother, yet none of these police stations had any information. Only after she finished visiting the police stations did she receive a phone message from an unidentified number containing the pictures of her brother, Zulfikli, and Bahar. The faces of Zulfikar and Bahar were bruised and swollen, whereas Zulfikli appeared to be unharmed. It was alleged that a police officer of Central Jakarta District Police -- one of the three police stations visited by Zulfikar -- was the sender of the message.
The sister visited Central Jakarta District Police for the second time on the same day to find Zulfikar. Yet the police officer in duty claimed that there has been no 'Zulfikar' had been arrested or detained in Central Jakarta District Police during the last two days. The family was finally able to meet Zulfikar at Central Jakarta District Police on the day when the arrest warrant was issued on 3 April 2014.
Zulfikar's mother informed LBH Jakarta that her son was beaten up and forced to confess to be a watch thief. The police claimed that the theft took place in the afternoon of 27 March 2014. Yet, according to the witnesses, Zulfikar was in the dorm with them when the theft took place.
The family and their lawyers of LBH Jakarta requested a pre-trial hearing against the Central Jakarta District Police to the court on 3 June 2014. Yet, since the first hearing on the theft case against Zulfikar only started on 16 June 2014, the pre-trial hearing has to be dismissed by law. LBH Jakarta is scheduled to file a complaint on the torture and fabrication charges against Zulfikar to the National Human Rights Commission on Monday, 23 June 2014.
Zulfikar is originally from Makassar, South Sulawesi. He arrived in Jakarta on 12 March 2014 to attend the selection process for a position of a journalist at beritasatu.com.
Additional information:
Despite being a state party to the UN Convention against Torture (UN CAT) and having laws emphasising the right of freedom from torture, Indonesia is a country where torture and ill-treatment are widely practised. Torture and ill-treatment are common not only in remote provinces and areas, such as in West Papua, but also in and around the state's capital, Jakarta. Earlier this year, Eric Christian Soemantri was suspiciously found dead hanging in his cell at a police station in Tangerang. Six street singers -- four of them were minors -- were also tortured and forced to confess to be the perpetrators of a murder. Only later at the High Court, two of those street singers, were not found guilty and acquitted.
Whilst torture and ill-treatment are widely and frequently practised and many of the victims are tried for crimes they have not committed, the perpetrators of torture and fabrication of charges are hardly tried and punished. This is partly caused by the fact that, whereas most of the perpetrators are police officers, it is the police themselves who have the authority to criminally investigate torture allegations. Independent commission such as the National Human Rights Commission can only take complaints and make non-legally binding recommendations.
Torture as defined by the UN CAT is yet to be criminalised in Indonesia.
Suggested action:
Please write to the listed authorities below, demanding for their intervention on this case. Please request for a criminal investigation on the torture and fabrication of charges allegations to take place. Please also urge the relevant authorities to ensure that the ongoing trial against Zulfikar is held in a fair manner.
The AHRC is writing separately to the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, asking for his intervention on this matter.
To support this appeal, please click here: http://www.urgentappeals.net/support.php?ua=AHRC-UAC-095-2014.
Sample letter:
Dear ....................,
Indonesia: Trial against victim of torture is ongoing
It was reported that Zulfikar was blindfolded with black tape and taken to an unidentified place, where he was tortured. He was beaten about the head and trampled on by six officers before later taken to Central Jakarta District Police station.
Following the arrest, the family visited three police stations in Central Jakarta to find the whereabouts of Zulfikar. Yet such attempts were futile, as the officers in those stations claimed not to know anything about Zulfikar. Only later, after the family left the police stations, Zulfikar's sister received a phone message from an unidentified number containing the pictures of Zulfikar whose face was already bruised and swollen. The pictures were allegedly sent by an officer at Central Jakarta Police station, which was one of the three police stations visited by the family.
Zulfikar's sister visited Central Jakarta Police station for the second time on the same day, yet the officer in duty again denied that Zulfikar was detained there. The family could meet Zulfikar only four days later on 3 April 2014. The arrest warrant against Zulfikar was also issued on that day.
Zulfikar's family and their lawyers of LBH Jakarta requested a pre-hearing trial against Central Jakarta District Police to the court, challenging the unlawful and arbitrary arrest against Zulfikar. Yet, since the hearing against Zulfikar was started in the middle of June, the pre-hearing trial was dismissed by law. The family and the lawyers will soon file a complaint to the National Human Rights Commission.
I am aware that this is not the first or the only case of torture in Indonesia. As reported by the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture in 2008, I know that torture is practised widely and frequently in different parts of Indonesia. Earlier this year, a detainee named Eric Christian Soemantri was suspiciously found dead in the police custody in Tangerang. Last year, six street singers in Jakarta were also tortured and forced to confess to be the perpetrators of a murder which they have not committed.
These cases of torture made me question your commitment on the protection of human rights, which are guaranteed in the 1945 Constitution and a number of laws and regulations, including the Law No. 39 Year 1999 on Human Rights. Contradicting the UN Convention against Torture which you have ratified in 1998, you have also repeatedly failed in bringing the perpetrators of torture to justice and to provide the victims with adequate, effective, and meaningful remedies.
I am calling you to put an end to impunity enjoyed by the perpetrators of torture, start by investigating the allegations on torture and fabrication of charges of Zulfikar. The police officers involved in these abuses have to be criminally tried and punished, in accordance with the law. Administrative sanction shall also be imposed on them, but not to be treated as a substitute to the criminal punishment. I am also urging you to ensure that the ongoing trial against Zulfikar is held in a fair manner, in accordance with the law and human rights principles.
I look forward to your positive and swift action on this matter.
Yours sincerely,
Please send your letters to:
1. Mr. Susilo
Bambang Yudhoyono
President of
the Republic of Indonesia
Jl. Veteran No.
16
Jakarta Pusat
INDONESIA
Tel: +62 21 3458
595
Fax: +62 21 3484
4759
2. Ms. Harkristuti
Harkrisnowo
General Director
of Human Rights
Ministry of Law
and Human Rights
Jl. HR Rasuna
Said Kav. 6 -- 7
Kuningan, Jakarta
12940
INDONESIA
Tel: +62 21 525
3006, 525 3889
Fax: +62 21 525
3095
3. Gen. Sutarman
Chief of the
Indonesian National Police
Jl. Trunojoyo
No. 3
Kebayoran Baru,
Jakarta Selatan 12110
INDONESIA
Tel: +62 21 384
8537, 726 0306
Fax: +62 21 7220
669
E-mail: info@polri.go.id
4. Mr. Djoko Suyanto
Chairperson of
National Police Commission
Jl. Tirtayasa
VII No. 20
Kebayoran Baru,
Jakarta Selatan
INDONESIA
Tel: +62 21 739
2315
Fax: +62 21 739
2352
E-mail: secretariat@kompolnas.go.id
skm@kompolnas.go.id
5. Mr. Dwi Prayitno
Chief of Jakarta
Metropolitan Police
Jl. Jend. Sudirman
Kav. 55
Jakarta Selatan
12190
INDONESIA
Tel: +62 21 523
4111
Fax: +62 21 570
9250
E-mail: bidhumas@metro.polri.go.id,
humas.pmj@gmail.com
6. Mr. Gusrizal,
SH. M.Hum
Head of Central
Jakarta District Court
Jl. Gajah Mada
No. 17
Jakarta Pusat
INDONESIA
Tel: +62 21 535
9831, 5359 832, 6385 0527
Fax: +62 21 6385
5052
E-mail: info@pn-jakartapusat.go.id
7. Mr. Hafid Abbas
Chairperson of
the National Human Rights Commission
Jl. Latuharhary
No. 4-B
Jakarta 10310
INDONESIA
Tel: +62 21 392
5227-30
Fax: +62 21 392
5227
E-mail: info@komnas.go.id
Thank you.
Urgent Appeals
Programme
Asian Human Rights
Commission (ua@ahrc.asia)
Source: http://www.humanrights.asia/news/urgent-appeals/AHRC-UAC-095-2014.
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