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INDONESIA: Police torture a man after illegally arresting and detaining him on two occasions

June 25, 2009

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION – URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Urgent Appeal Case: AHRC-UAC-065-2009

26 June 2009
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INDONESIA: Police torture a man after illegally arresting and detaining him on two occasions

ISSUES: Torture; police assault; arbitrary arrest and detention
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Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is writing to inform you that a man falsely accused by police of being a drug dealer, was arrested and detained twice to force him to confess. The policemen burned his hand with a lit cigarette and repeatedly assaulted him inside the police station in Cilegon City.

CASE DETAILS:

On April 29, 2009 at around 10:30pm, Zaenal M. Latif was held and then detained by more than ten police officers in Cilegon City, Banten province. The police, who disguised themselves as preman (this is a slang word which also means a gangster or thug), arrested him in the area of Taman Bonakarta complex. He was with Nunu, a close friend, waiting for a ride when the incident took place.

While Latif was held in detention, Ipda Dedi Herdiana, who had introduced himself to the victim as a member of the narcotics division, had Latif repeatedly assaulted about his head. No reason was given for his arrest. They then took him to the Cilegon Police Station in a van where they took a urine sample, supposedly to test him for illegal drugs; the result was negative.

About five police officers wearing civilian clothing questioned Latif in an interrogation room, during which he was punched in his face and back. Through this maltreatment they forced him to confess and admit to being a drug dealer. The policemen also brought two persons called Upik and Neng into the interrogation room, who claimed that Latif was known to them and that they knew about his illegal drug activities.  A police officer then burned Latif’s left hand with a cigarette. Yet he was then unexpectedly released.

However at 11:30pm four police officers arrived at the room he rented in Jombang Kali, Cilegon. They did not have an arrest warrant. They once again punched his face and body, they handcuffed him and trampled on his hands and fingers. He was not able to identify the torturers because they had their faces covered.

On this second occasion, when the policemen were unable to find evidence that would convict Latif as a drug dealer they took him back to the Cilegon station where officer Briptu Rahmat threatened that if he did not confess to dealing drugs by 5am the following day (April 30), they might have to kill him. Rahmat said that this order came from their boss. Another unidentified police officer had also placed his gun against Latif’s leg during the interrogation.

On April 30 Ipda Dedi Herdiana, the police officer who claimed to be a member of the narcotics division and who had beaten him during his first arrest asked Latif to clean up and change his clothes, which were bloodstains before releasing him. Herdiana also warned Latif not tell anyone about what had happened to him.

SUGGESTED ACTION:

Please write to the local authorities listed below to demand that the policemen attached to the Cilegon Police Station be promptly subjected to an investigation. The ten police officers allegedly involved should face appropriate disciplinary sanctions. Legal actions must be taken against them once there is sufficient evidence for a conviction. It must also be determined whether their actions came as a result of instructions from their superiors. Please also ask the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and the National Police Commission (NPC) to ensure that the victim is afforded with adequate legal redress.

The AHRC has written a separate letter to the UN Special Rapporteur on the Question of Torture calling for his intervention in this case.

To support this appeal, please click here:

SAMPLE LETTER:

Dear __________,

Re: INDONESIA: Police torture a man after illegally arresting and detaining him twice

Name of victim: Zaenal M. Latif
Alleged perpetrators: Ten police officers attached to the Cilegon Police Station, including Ipda Dedi Herdiana, who introduced himself to the victim as a member of the Narcotics division
Date of incident: 29 to 30 April 2009
Place of incident: Cilegon Police Station in Cilegon City

I am writing to voice my deep concern regarding the case of Zaenal M. Latif, a man whom police officers illegally arrested and detained on April 29, 2009. The police officers, attached to the Cilegon Police Station, falsely accused him of involvement in illegal drugs activities and being a drug dealer himself.

The police had him arrested and detained twice. Firstly, while he was with a friend waiting for a ride on a public transport in the area of Taman Bonakarta complex; and secondly, from his rented room shortly after they had released him from the first interrogation.

While he was in police custody on both occasions the officers subjected him to questioning inside their interrogation room while beating him repeatedly. On the first occasion his left hand was burned with a cigarette, on the second he was shown a gun and threatened with death the next morning if he didn’t confess. The police also provided two false witnesses implicating Latif.

I am deeply concerned to hear that the victim has been punished for a crime that he has not committed, without there being sufficient evidence against him.

I am shocked to note the extent to which this violates the Indonesian government’s commitment to implementing the United Nation’s Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT), which it ratified in 1998. This case demonstrates yet again that most torture cases in Indonesia occur after arrested persons are taken to police stations in Indonesia, and it illustrates the continuing and extreme abuse of power by police during investigations.

Yours sincerely,

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PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:

1. Mr. Ajun Komisaris Besar Polisi (AKBP) Drs. Dwi Gunawan, MM
Chief of Police in Cilegon
Pulo Merak Kota Cilegon
INDONESIA
Tel.: +62 22 54 395936
Fax: +62 386803
Email: polrescilegon@gmail.com

2. Mr. Irjen Pol. Drs. Timur Pradopo
Chief of Police in West Java
Jl. Soekarno - Hatta No. 748 Bandung 40613 Jawa Barat
INDONESIA
Tel.: +62 22 780 0166 / +62 22 780 5123
Email: polda_jabar@polri.go.id 

3. Mrs. Sri Suhartini, SH.MM.
Chief of Kejaksaan Negeri Cilegon
Jl. Tb. Ismail BBS 2 Blok J No.445 Cilegon
INDONESIA
Tel.: +62 21 7208623

4. Gen. Bambang Hendarso Danuri
Chief of National Police
Jl. Trunojoyo No. 3
Jakarta Selatan
INDONESIA
Tel: +62 21 721 8012
Fax: +62 21 720 7277

5. Mr. Ifdhal Kasim
Chairperson of the Indonesian Commission on Human Rights (KOMNAS HAM)
Jln. Latuharhary No. 4B, Menteng,
Jakarta Pusat 10310
INDONESIA
Tel.: +62 21 3925230 ext. 225 / 221
Fax: +62 21 3925227
Email: info@komnasham.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

Thank you.

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

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Case
Document ID :
AHRC-UAC-065-2009
Countries :
Issues :
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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.