INDONESIA: Police defy court order to pay compensation to shooting victim

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Urgent Appeal Case: AHRC-UAC-026-2014
ISSUES: Administration of justice, Inhuman & degrading treatment, Judicial system, Police negligence, Police violence, Right to redress, Right to remedy, Torture,

Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from the Indonesian Human Rights and Legal Aid Association (Perhimpunan Bantuan Hukum Indonesia, PBHI) in West Sumatra regarding the neglected judgments of the civil courts in the case of Iwan Mulyadi. Iwan, a 28-year-old residing in West Pasaman Barat of West Sumatera, is a victim of a 2006 police shooting. The Supreme Court ordered the police to pay compensation to Iwan in 2011, but the police has not paid such compensation claiming they lack the budget to do so. Iwan, meanwhile, is now permanently paralysed and lost his job.

CASE NARRATIVE:

According to the PBHI, Iwan (28) was shot on 20 January 2006. On that afternoon, Iwan and his friend were cooking in a hut when law enforcement agent Novrizal, who was in civilian clothes, came and asked both Iwan and his friend to come out of the hut. Novrizal had previously received a report claiming that Iwan was responsible for vandalising a palm plantation. As Iwan was coming out of the hut, Novrizal shot him in the torso from behind. (Picture: Iwan was shot by the police that he is permanently paralysed. The police have been failing to provide him with compensation, ignoring the courts’ orders. Courtesy of AHRC/Monicha Lelly Awang)

Financial constraint forced Iwan’s family to accept a peace settlement with Novrizal. One of the agreed clauses in the agreement was that Iwan’s medical expenses will be paid by Novrizal until Iwan is fully recovered. However, after only 21 days of being hospitalised, Iwan was discharged from M. Jamil Padang Hospital while the bullet still remained in his body. Iwan has been staying at home and his injury has been left untreated since then. His medical report states that the bullet wound resulted in him being permanently paralysed. 

According to Iwan’s lawyer, Sahnan Sahuri Siregar, the PBHI brought the case to the attention of the local government who agreed to bear the cost of temporary medical treatment for Iwan. The PBHI also brought the case to the National Commission on Human Rights and, upon the Commission’s recommendation, the perpetrator was prosecuted. Novrizal was found guilty of Article 354 (1) of the Penal Code on aggravated assault and sentenced to 1 year and 6 months of imprisonment by West Pasaman District Court. Although there are indications that the shooting was intentional, the court ruled that such act was merely an accident.

Unsatisfied with the judgment of the criminal court, Iwan and the PBHI submitted a civil lawsuit against Kinali Sub-District Police – represented by its Chief – and Novrizal. In 2011, the Supreme Court delivered the final judgment of the case, reaffirming the previous rulings delivered by West Pasaman District Court in 2008 and West Sumatra High Court in 2010. In all these rulings, Kinali Sub-District Police and Novrizal were ordered to provide Iwan with IDR 300,000,000 (approximately USD 30,000) compensation.

Indah Suryani Azmi of the PBHI reported that Iwan’s family has requested West Pasaman District Court to enforce the judgments on 13 September 2012. Responding to the request, the court resent the order to Kinali Sub-District Police four more times (the latest one on 21 January 2014) asking them to comply with the judgment and to pay compensation to Iwan. The police, however, have refused to give a positive response and treat the courts’ rulings on Iwan’s case as unenforceable. To the national media TEMPO, the Chief of the Indonesian National Police General Sutarman said that the police do not have the budget to provide compensation to the victim of wrongdoings perpetrated by its rogue officers.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

Under Indonesian law, victims of human rights violations may pursue two legal venues if they wish to obtain compensation. The first mechanism is under Law No. 13 Year 2006 on Witnesses and Victims Protection and the other one is by submitting a civil lawsuit against the perpetrators. The civil lawsuit is typically submitted on articles 1365-1367 of the Civil Code which are approximately equivalent to tort provisions in common law countries.

Article 50 of Law No. 48 Year 2009 on the Judiciary establishes that the execution of court’s judgment in civil cases is the responsibility of the head of the district court. In the circumstance where the losing party fails to comply with the judgment, the court may auction his or her property. However, according to article 50 of Law No. 1 Year 2004 on State’s Treasury, such auction cannot be performed on the state’s properties. This article was reviewed in 2008 by the Constitutional Court. The court, however, did not find such article to be contrary to the constitution.

Indonesia has the obligation to ensure that the right of victims to redress is effective, as guaranteed by Article 2 (3) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). Article 2 (3) point c of the Covenant is relevant in this case, as it obliges Indonesia as a state party ‘to ensure that the competent authorities shall enforce such remedies when granted.’ Indonesia is also obliged to take measures to abolish specific obstacles that impede the enjoyment of the right to redress. Among such specific obstacles is ‘the failure of a State party to execute judgements providing reparative measures for a victim of a torture’, as pointed out by the UN Committee against Torture in its General Comment No. 3.

SUGGESTED ACTION:

Please write to the authorities listed below, urging them to ensure that Kinali Sub-District Police as well as Novrizal pay the full compensation to Iwan, as ordered by the courts’ judgments.

The AHRC is writing a separate letter to the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment as well as the UN Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and lawyers, asking for their intervention in this matter.

To support this case, please click here: SEND APPEAL LETTER

SAMPLE LETTER

Dear ___________,

INDONESIA: Police defy court order to pay compensation to shooting victim

Name of victim: Iwan Mulyadi (28)
Names of alleged perpetrators: Kinali Sub-District Police, Novrizal
Date of incident: 20 January 2006 – present (ongoing)
Place of incident: West Pasaman, West Sumatra, Indonesia

I am writing to express my deep concern regarding the ongoing failure of the Kinali Sub-District Police to pay compensation to Iwan Mulyadi, a victim of a 2006 police shooting. I have been informed that the Supreme Court ordered Kinali Sub-District Police and the officer responsible for the shooting, Novrizal, to pay compensation of IDR 300,000,000 (USD 30,000) to Iwan and his family in 2011. Such rulings, however, is still being ignored by the police even today.

According to the information provided by the Indonesian Human Rights and Legal Aid Association (Perhimpunan Bantuan Hukum Indonesia, PBHI) in West Sumatra, Iwan was shot in the back by Novrizal on 20 January 2006. Following the shooting, Iwan and his family were forced to accept a peace settlement in which Novrizal promised to cover Iwan’s full medical treatment. However, Iwan was discharged from the hospital with the bullet still in his body after only 21 days.

Novrizal was later criminally tried and sentenced by West Pasaman District Court to 1 year and 6 months of imprisonment. However, the court ruled that the shooting was not intentional. Unsatisfied with such judgment, Iwan and his family filed a civil lawsuit against Kinali Sub-District Police and Novrizal. West Pasaman District Court, West Sumatra High Court, and the Supreme Court have ruled in favour of Iwan, and ordered Kinali Sub-District Police as well as Novrizal to pay compensation to Iwan and his family. The police, however, have refused to comply with the rulings, citing budget constraint to justify their disobedience.

Indonesia has the obligation to ensure that the right of victims to redress is effective, as guaranteed by Article 2 (3) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). Article 2 (3) point c of the Covenant is relevant in this case, as it obliges Indonesia as a state party ‘to ensure that the competent authorities shall enforce such remedies when granted.’ Indonesia is also obliged to take measures to abolish specific obstacles that impede the enjoyment of the right to redress. Among such specific obstacles is ‘the failure of a State party to execute judgements providing reparative measures for a victim of a torture’, as pointed out by the UN Committee against Torture in its General Comment No. 3.

I am aware that, under Indonesian law, the court has the power to auction the properties of the losing party in a civil case if she or he fails to pay damages ordered by the court. However, according to Law No. 1 Year 2004 on State’s Treasury, the auction cannot be performed on state’s properties. As a result, there appears to be no effective mechanism to force state institutions to pay compensation to victims of human rights violations in spite of the court order in this case.

I therefore demand you to review and revise the existing mechanism in Indonesia’s laws that impede the right of victims of human rights violations to obtain compensation, in accordance with international standards. For this particular case, I urge you to take all the necessary steps to ensure that Kinali Sub-District Police as well as Novrizal will comply with the courts’ judgments and provide Iwan and his family with the compensation as ordered.

I look forward to your positive and swift actions in this matter.

Yours sincerely,

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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. Muhammad Hatta Ali
Chief Justice of the Supreme Court
Jl. Medan Merdeka Utara No. 9-13
INDONESIA
Tel: +62 21 384 3348
Fax: +62 21 381 0356
E-mail: info@ma-ri.go.id

5. Hj. Sri Hartati
Head of West Pasaman District Court
Jl. Raya Simpang Empat Manggopoh
Pasaman Barat, Sumatra Barat
INDONESIA

6. Mr. Suparman Marzuki
Chairperson of the Judicial Commission
Jl. Kramat Raya No. 57
Jakarta Pusat
INDONESIA
Tel: +62 21 390 5876
Fax: +62 21 390 6215
E-mail: kyri@komisiyudisial.go.id

7. 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)