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INDONESIA: Torture and maltreatment of political prisoners in Papua

February 16, 2009

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION – URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Urgent Appeal Case: AHRC-UAC-014-2009

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16 February 2009
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INDONESIA: Torture and maltreatment of political prisoners in Papua

ISSUES: Torture; ill-treatment; prisoners of conscience; freedom of expression; right to self-determination
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Dear Friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) regrets to inform you that we have received information of detainees being tortured and ill-treated by prison officials in Abepura Prison, Papua province, Indonesia. According to the information received seven persons were tortured from February 1, until February 5, 2009. They were reportedly beaten and put in an isolation cells where they were deprived of food and water for four days.

CASE DETAILS

On February 1, 2009, Mr. Buktar Tabuni, who was originally arrested on December 3, 2008 on charges of treason, was taken into custody at Abepura Prison, in Papua province. Following his arrival at the prison, Mr. Tabuni was beaten by a prison official. This beating caused a severe injury to the eye, and he is now unable to see properly. (Please see further: AHRC-UAC-262-2008)

Six other detainees at Abepura Prison, who like Mr Tabuni are political prisoners, reacted against the unprovoked beating and filed a formal complaint with the director of the prison. Following the complaint the seven prisoners were subjected to torture and ill-treatment by the prison guards. The treatment is reported to have included: punching; slapping of the eye; kicking with jackboots; as well as slaps about the face and neck.

List of victims:

1. Yusak Pakage, Male, 30 years old
2. Selpius Boby, Male, 28 years old
3. Cosmos Yual, Male, 28 years old
4. Buktar Tabuni, Male, 29 years old
5. Nelson Rumbiak, Male, 23 years old
6. Ricky Jitmau, Male, 22 years old
7. Elias Tameka, Male, 22 years old

Subsequently, after the severe beating the six prisoners, along with Mr. Tabuni, were transferred to an undersized cell without windows. The cell was unhygenic and there was human excrement on the floor from the former inhabitants. The victims were placed in severe danger as the prison personell left them in the cell for four days without access to water or food.

Following this period of inhumane treatment 16 police men came to the prison on February 5, 2009 at 8am, to transfer the victims to the police prison in Jayapura, Papua province. During the transfer, the seven prisoners were not allowed to wear cloths except for their underwear.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

Mr. Buktar Tabuni was originally arrested on December 3, 2008 after having organized a peaceful and lawful demonstration on October 16, 2008 in support of the International Parliamentarians for West Papua in London. Mr. Tabuni was charged with the crime of treason despite the fact that the demonstration he organized was in accordance with domestic laws regulating freedom of expression. (For more information on Mr. Tabuni's arrest, please see AHRC-UAC-262-2008) Mr. Tabuni has, until February 1, 2009 been kept in police custody at the request of the public prosecutor while awaiting further developments in his case.

Like Mr. Tabuni, there are many political prisoners and prisoners of conscience. Over the last years many Papuan activists have been imprisoned for participating in protest actions.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

Since Indonesia assumed sovereignty of the western part of the Papua island through a contested UN supervised referendum in 1963 (often referred to by Papuans as "the Act of No Choice"), the provinces have harboured a strong independence and human rights movement. This movement is often unlawfully repressed by the police, the military and the courts. Political activists are frequently jailed, tortured, harassed and even killed (see Urgent Appeals: AHRC-UAC-262-2008; AHRC-UAC-261-2008 and AHRC-UAU-071-2008 for examples of such cases).

The political subjugation of Papuans is being supported by Indonesian Law which criminalizes the expression of any political opinion which could "Attempt to bring the territory of the state wholly or partially under foreign domination or to separate part thereof", as is stipulated by Article 106 of the Indonesian Penal Code. This article further elaborates that any such attempt: "shall be punished by life imprisonment or a maximum imprisonment of twenty years."

SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write letters to the concerned authorities urging them to ensure that this case is thoroughly investigated and the legal representatives of nine villagers provide legal advice to them.

Please be informed that the AHRC has written separate letter to the UN Special Rapporteur on the question of torture calling for intervention in this matter.

To support this appeal, please click here: null

SAMPLE LETTER:

Dear ______,

INDONESIA: Torture and maltreatment of political prisoners in Papua

Name of victims: Yusak Pakage (30, male), Selpius Boby (28, male), Cosmos Yual (28, male), Buktar Tabuni (29, male), Nelson Rumbiak (23, male), Ricky Jitmau (22, male), Elias Tameka (22, male)
Names of alleged perpetrators: Adrianus Sihombing; Elly Awii; Marthen Imbiri; lof Itlai Rianto; Yosep Yembise and Nikson Yarusrai
(All are the prison guards attached to Abepura prison)
Palce of incident: Abepura Prison, Papua, Indonesia
Date of incident: from February 1, 2009 to February 5, 2009

I am disturbed to learn of the torture and ill-treatment of seven persons in Abepura prison, Papua Province, Indonesia, from February 1, until february 5 2009.

After Mr. Buktar Tabuni was transferred to Abepura prison he allegedly was immediately beaten by prison officials. The beating caused a severe injury to his eye, and he is now unable to see properly.

Six other prisoners observed the beating and reacted by filing a formal complaint to the director of the prison. Following this complaint, the six prisoners, along with Mr. Tabuni, were brutally beaten by prison guards. The beatings included punching; slapping of the eye; kicking with jackboots; as well as slaps on the face and neck of the victims.

Subsequently the seven brutalized prisoners were moved to an isolated cell of the prison, where they were made to stay for 4 days without getting access to any food or water. The cell was additionally
windowless and was littered with the excrement of former prisoners.

First, I ask that you immediately drop the charges against Mr. Tabuni, and release him from police prison. He is, along with several of the other victims, a political prisoner charged under the absurd laws criminalizing the freedom of expression of a large amount of people. I want to draw your attention to the need for revising the Indonesian penal code with regards to these laws, in particular article 106 of the Indonesian Penal Code, which is frequently applied to subjugate political activists' freedom of expression in Papua.

Further, I call on you to hold those prison officials accountable for the crimes they have committed. They should be prosecuted in an impartial and transparent manner, and be sentenced to a punishment proportionate to the crimes they have committed, namely torture and cruel inhuman and degrading treatment. A proper punishment for torture would be at least several years of imprisonment.

Failure to prosecute and punish the prison officials responsible would signal your compliance with these crimes, and would further add another brick in the wall that is the virtual impunity of state officials in Indonesia today.

I call on you to ensure that the charges against Mr. Tabuni be dropped, and that the prison officials be held responsible for the crimes they have committed.

Yours Sincerely


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PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:

1. Irjen Polisi Drs. F.X. Bagus Ekodanto
Chief of the Papuan Regional Police
Kepolisian Daerah Papua
Jl. Dr. Sam Ratulangi No. 8
Jayapura
INDONESIA
Tel: +62 967 33317 / 31835

2. R. Widyopramono SH,M.Hum.
Kejaksaan Tinggi Papua
Jl. Anggrek No.6 Tj. Ria
Jayapura
INDONESIA
Tel: +62 967 542764 / 541130

3. Paulus Waterpauw,
Director of the Criminal Unit
Papua Regional Police
Jl. Samratulangi
No. 8 Jayapura
INDONESIA
Tel: + 62 967 531834

4. Mr. Hendarman Supandji
Attorney General
Kejaksaan Agung RI
Jl. Sultan Hasanuddin No. 1
Jakarta Selatan
INDONESIA
Fax: + 62 21 7250213
Tel: + 62 21 7221337, 7397602

5. Gen. Bambang Hendarso Danuri
Chief of National Police
Jl. Trunojoyo No. 3
Jakarta Selatan
INDONESIA
Fax: +62 21 720 7277
Tel: +62 21 721 8012
Email: polri@polri.go.id

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

7. Mr. Susilo Bambang Yudoyono
President
Republic of Indonesia
Presidential Palace
Jl. Medan Merdeka Utara
Jakarta Pusat 10010
INDONESIA
Fax: + 62 21 231 41 38, 345 2685, 345 7782
Tel: + 62 21 3845627 ext 1003
E-mail: presiden@ri.go.id

8. Mr. Ifdhal Kasim
Chairperson
KOMNAS HAM (National Human Rights Commission)
Jl. Latuharhary No. 4B Menteng
Jakarta Pusat 10310
INDONESIA
Fax: +62 21 3151042/3925227
Tel: +62 21 3925230
E-mail: info@komnasham.or.id

Thank you.

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

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Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Case
Document ID :
AHRC-UAC-014-2009
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Extended Introduction: Urgent Appeals, theory and practice

A need for dialogue

Many people across Asia are frustrated by the widespread lack of respect for human rights in their countries.  Some may be unhappy about the limitations on the freedom of expression or restrictions on privacy, while some are affected by police brutality and military killings.  Many others are frustrated with the absence of rights on labour issues, the environment, gender and the like. 

Yet the expression of this frustration tends to stay firmly in the private sphere.  People complain among friends and family and within their social circles, but often on a low profile basis. This kind of public discourse is not usually an effective measure of the situation in a country because it is so hard to monitor. 

Though the media may cover the issues in a broad manner they rarely broadcast the private fears and anxieties of the average person.  And along with censorship – a common blight in Asia – there is also often a conscious attempt in the media to reflect a positive or at least sober mood at home, where expressions of domestic malcontent are discouraged as unfashionably unpatriotic. Talking about issues like torture is rarely encouraged in the public realm.

There may also be unwritten, possibly unconscious social taboos that stop the public reflection of private grievances.  Where authoritarian control is tight, sophisticated strategies are put into play by equally sophisticated media practices to keep complaints out of the public space, sometimes very subtly.  In other places an inner consensus is influenced by the privileged section of a society, which can control social expression of those less fortunate.  Moral and ethical qualms can also be an obstacle.

In this way, causes for complaint go unaddressed, un-discussed and unresolved and oppression in its many forms, self perpetuates.  For any action to arise out of private frustration, people need ways to get these issues into the public sphere.

Changing society

In the past bridging this gap was a formidable task; it relied on channels of public expression that required money and were therefore controlled by investors.  Printing presses were expensive, which blocked the gate to expression to anyone without money.  Except in times of revolution the media in Asia has tended to serve the well-off and sideline or misrepresent the poor.

Still, thanks to the IT revolution it is now possible to communicate with large audiences at little cost.  In this situation there is a real avenue for taking issues from private to public, regardless of the class or caste of the individual.

Practical action

The AHRC Urgent Appeals system was created to give a voice to those affected by human rights violations, and by doing so, to create a network of support and open avenues for action.  If X’s freedom of expression is denied, if Y is tortured by someone in power or if Z finds his or her labour rights abused, the incident can be swiftly and effectively broadcast and dealt with. The resulting solidarity can lead to action, resolution and change. And as more people understand their rights and follow suit, as the human rights consciousness grows, change happens faster. The Internet has become one of the human rights community’s most powerful tools.   

At the core of the Urgent Appeals Program is the recording of human rights violations at a grass roots level with objectivity, sympathy and competence. Our information is firstly gathered on the ground, close to the victim of the violation, and is then broadcast by a team of advocates, who can apply decades of experience in the field and a working knowledge of the international human rights arena. The flow of information – due to domestic restrictions – often goes from the source and out to the international community via our program, which then builds a pressure for action that steadily makes its way back to the source through his or her own government.   However these cases in bulk create a narrative – and this is most important aspect of our program. As noted by Sri Lankan human rights lawyer and director of the Asian Human Rights Commission, Basil Fernando:

"The urgent appeal introduces narrative as the driving force for social change. This idea was well expressed in the film Amistad, regarding the issue of slavery. The old man in the film, former president and lawyer, states that to resolve this historical problem it is very essential to know the narrative of the people. It was on this basis that a court case is conducted later. The AHRC establishes the narrative of human rights violations through the urgent appeals. If the narrative is right, the organisation will be doing all right."

Patterns start to emerge as violations are documented across the continent, allowing us to take a more authoritative, systemic response, and to pinpoint the systems within each country that are breaking down. This way we are able to discover and explain why and how violations take place, and how they can most effectively be addressed. On this path, larger audiences have opened up to us and become involved: international NGOs and think tanks, national human rights commissions and United Nations bodies.  The program and its coordinators have become a well-used tool for the international media and for human rights education programs. All this helps pave the way for radical reforms to improve, protect and to promote human rights in the region.