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Indonesia: Police must investigate the fatal shooting of a man in Nabire, Papua
Asian Human Rights Commission Urgent Appeal - September 10, 2013
Dear friends,
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding the shooting of a Papuan man in Nabire, Papua. The victim, Marthen Gobai, was shot in the head on 5 September 2013. Whereas the identity of the perpetrator is yet to be confirmed there is an allegation that the shooting was carried out by the police.
Case narrative:
According to a local activist who interviewed the family of the victim, Marthen Gobai was drunk and escorted to his home by a police officer on 5 September 2013 at 07.30 p.m. Before leaving the house, the police advised Marthen not to go out and cause a nuisance otherwise the police will shoot him. However, as Marthen was drunk, he went out at around 9 p.m. in spite of his wife's attempts to prevent him. His wife chased him until they both were about 15 meters away from West Nabire SP1 Sub-District Police station. Bearing what the police officer previously told her husband, Marthen's wife decided to go home. (Picture: Marthen Gobai. Courtesy of a local activist)
A few hours later at around 10.20 p.m., Marthen's relatives looked around the village to find Marthen but were unable to do so. It was only on the next day, 6 September 2013, the police informed the family that Marthen had passed away and that his body was being kept at Siriwini General Hospital (RSUD Siriwini). A witness later told Marthen's family that it was the police who brought the victim's body to the hospital at around 00.30 a.m. on that day.
The family reported that the only injury found on Marthen's was a gunshot wound to his head. Pictures taken by the family reveal that the gunshot to the victim's head struck Marthen in the left forehead leaving an exit wound that exposed his brain matter. Marthen's family requested the doctor to provide them with an autopsy report but their demand was turned down. The doctor told the family that he 'does not dare to give it (to the family) without the consent of the police.'
Additional information:
What actually had happened to Marthen and who is responsible for the shooting has not been confirmed as of today. However, the reluctance of the doctor to give Marthen's family the autopsy report without the consent of the police as well as the 'advise' from a police officer to Marthen not to go out on the night of the incident have raised suspicion that the police were somehow involved. Shootings by the police are reported to be common, not only in Nabire but also other parts of Papua. For instance, a mentally ill Papuan named Irwan Wenda was shot to death by a police officer in Jayawijaya simply due to a petty fight between the two last month.
Whoever is responsible for the death of Marthen, the police have the obligation to investigate the case effectively and impartially as well as to bring the perpetrator to justice. In accordance with the law, the individual responsible for the shooting has to be tried by a criminal court and sentenced to proportionate punishment. Various human rights bodies have upheld that the failure of the authorities to investigate the death of individuals within its territories and the failure to punish the perpetrators amount to the violation of the right to life. In the case of Khashiyev and Akayeva v Russia, for instance, the European Court of Human Rights established that "the obligation to protect the right to life... read in conjunction with the State's general duty... also requires by implication that there should be some form of effective investigation when individuals have been killed as a result of the use of force." In his report in 2006, the UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions has also emphasised that the "obligation to investigate is part and parcel of the obligation to ensure the right to life".
Suggested action:
Please write to the authorities listed below demanding them to investigate this case effectively and impartially. Any individual who is responsible for the death of Marthen should be brought to criminal trial and punished proportionately in accordance with the law.
The AHRC is writing a separate letter to the UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions.
To support this appeal, please click here: http://www.urgentappeals.net/support.php?ua=AHRC-UAC-118-2013.
Sample letter
Dear ___________,
Indonesia: Police should investigate the death of a man shot on head in Nabire, Papua
The relatives were later looked around for Marthen on that night yet they did not manage to find him. Yet on the next day, 6 September 2013, the police informed them that Marthen had passed away and that his body was being kept in Siriwini General Hospital. It was reported by an eye-witness that Marthen was taken to the hospital by the police. The relatives who visited the hospital reported that the only injury found on Marthen's was a gunshot wound to his head. Pictures taken by the family reveal that the gunshot to the victim's head struck Marthen in the left forehead leaving an exit wound that exposed his brain matter. This information is confirmed by several pictures of Marthen taken by the family after the shooting. I have been informed that the family has requested for an autopsy report from the hospital but the doctor in charge refused to do so, for the reason that he did not dare to do so without the consent of the police.
I am aware that what has happened to Marthen and the person responsible for his shooting remain unclear as of today. However, the advice given by a police officer not to leave the house prior to the shooting and the doctor's reluctance to provide Marthen's family with the autopsy report without the permission of the police have raised my suspicion that the police are involved in this case. Such suspicion is supported with the fact that police shooting is common in Nabire and other parts of Papua. I am aware that last month, for instance, a mentally-ill Papuan was shot to death by a police officer in Jayawijaya following a petty fight between the two.
Regardless of such suspicion, the police are obliged to conduct an independent and effective investigation in this case and to bring the perpetrator to justice. In accordance with the provisions under domestic law, anybody responsible for the death of Marthen shall be tried by an independent criminal court and sentenced to adequate punishment. The failure of the police to investigate this case effectively may constitute the violation of the right to life. As rightly emphasised by the UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions in his report in 2006, 'the obligation to investigate is part and parcel of the obligation to ensure the right to life.'
Bearing this in mind, I am calling you to ensure that the Indonesian National Police will conduct an effective and impartial investigation on this case. If it is found that police officers are responsible for the shooting, it has to be ensured that they will not merely subjected to internal disciplinary mechanism but a criminal proceeding in accordance with the law.
I look forward for your positive and swift response in 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
E-mail: webmaster@setneg.go.id
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. Timur
Pradopo
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. Tito Karnavian
Chief of Papua
Regional Police
Jl. Dr. Sam Ratulangi
No. 8 Jayapura
INDONESIA
Tel: +62 967
531 014, 533 396
Fax: +62 967
533 763
5. Ms. Siti Nur
Laila
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)
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