INDONESIA: A 16-year-old boy tortured to death by nine police officers

Dear Friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding the torture to death of Ramadan Suhuddin, a sixteen-year-old boy, in the Municipality Police Office, Samarinda City, East Kalimantan Province, Indonesia. The alleged perpetrators remain unpunished. The police are protecting their fellow officers, who tortured the boy.

CASE NARRATIVE:

On 16 October 2011, Ramadan Suhuddin and his six friends were arrested by police officers of Samarinda Municipality Police, in Jalan Otto Iskandar Dinata, Samarinda City, East Kalimantan Province. Ramadan and his friends were arrested because they were allegedly involved in a motorcycle theft. The police officers dragged them and beat them on their heads.

Ramadan and the six other suspects were taken to Samarinda Municipality Police Office; three of them were blindfolded with duct tape. Ramadan Suhuddin, and two others were not blindfolded. The nine perpetrator officers hit the victims on the stomach and mouth until they were bloodied.

One of the officers hit Ramadan on the back of his head with a folded chair; this resulted in brain injury, as stated by the autopsy result. The other officers hit Ramadan on his stomach and chest, either with bare hands or with a rattan stick. The torture resulted in Ramadan Suhuddin’s death.

The Samarinda Municipality Police Office, in its explanation, stated that the death of Ramadan Suhuddin was not because of torture conducted in the investigation room at Samarinda Municipality Police, but because the victim had overdosed with illegal drugs and because he suffered from a disease.

So far, while the investigation process related to the case has been conducted, only one police officer is indicted with a criminal charge; eight other officers have only been questioned in the internal police enquiry, known in Indonesia as the ethic mechanism.

The AHRC is informed that the verdict of Samarinda District Court and the verdict of cassation in the Supreme Court state that the cause of the victim’s death is the torture conducted by eight police officers of the Samarinda Municipality Police Office.

Since the beginning of the investigation, the police investigators have sought to weaken the case.

Some facts that remain controversial are that:

Firstly, in relation to the Police Report Number: TBL/1190/X/2011/Resta Smd, dated 18 October 2011, the police investigators initially only charged the perpetrators under Article 170 and 351 of the Indonesian Criminal Code (KUHP). The police investigators did not include Law No. 23 of 2002 concerning Child Protection. The police did not take into consideration the fact that Ramadan Suhuddin was underage. However, after media coverage and public pressure, the District Attorney as the State Prosecutor returned the indictment document to the police; subsequently the police included Law No. 23 of 2002.

Secondly, though the torture was allegedly committed by nine police officers, the police investigators only charged one officer, namely Mr. Anwar. Meanwhile the other perpetrators only become witnesses of the alleged torture.

Thirdly, the police investigators did not take into consideration the confession of eight other suspects who witnessed the torture to death of Ramadan Suhuddin. Moreover, the investigators also ignored the confession of other suspects that they were threatened by the police officers not to attend the case reconstruction at the site of torture.

Fourthly, the police investigators conclude that the cause of death in the case of Ramadan Suhuddin’s is his having fallen off a motorcycle due to an overdose of alcohol.

These facts constitute fabrication and have resulted in unfair trial. The police are reluctant to disclose real facts of the case. Therefore, AHRC respectfully requests you to:

  1. Urge the chief of national police and chief of police Area of East Kalimantan to conduct proper, accountable, and impartial investigation of the perpetrators;
  2. Urge the National Police Commission (Kompolnas) to monitor the National Police while they fulfill their duties to incorporate the human rights principals and other legal obligations that apply to policing;
  3. Urge the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) and the Ombudsman of Republic of Indonesia to monitor the law process that will be conducted by the Chief of National Police;
  4. Urge the House of Representatives to immediately revise the Indonesian Penal Code to ensure that torture is treated as a crime that must be criminally charged and punished.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

Indonesia is a State party to the Torture Convention and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment with the promulgation Law No. 5 of 1998.

The Constitution of Republic of Indonesia [UUD 1945], Article 28 G, paragraph 2, states, “Every person shall have the right to be free from torture or inhumane and degrading treatment [….]” Beside the Constitution, Indonesia also has a national law, No. 39 of 1999, on Human Rights. Article 4 of this law clearly guarantees the right to not to be tortured.

The above-mentioned laws only guarantee prohibition of torture, but do not regulate prosecution and punishment of the act of torture. Prosecution against torture always refers to the Indonesian Penal Code. However, the Penal Code does not regulate the prosecution and punishment of torture. It only regulates criminal charges for brutal attack and violence. In this regard, therefore, the Indonesian Penal Code needs to be revised soon, because it is yet to recognize torture as a crime; whenever the state apparatus commits torture, the perpetrators mostly remain unpunished or benefit from a light sentence. Very few members of security forces have been brought to court to face trial for an act of alleged torture; they are mostly tried through the internal ethic mechanism, which is non-judicial in nature.

Ironically, the National Commission on Human Right (Komnas HAM) only tackles torture if it falls within the element of crimes against humanity, which requires systematic or widespread crime. Therefore, when Komnas HAM receives a report or complaint on torture that does not fit with the element of crimes against humanity, the Commission will not tackle it. In these cases, the case will be recommended to the institution involved, such as the police or military.

SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write to the authorities listed below, asking them to ensure that the nine police officers of Samarinda Police Office will be prosecuted and punished, under fair trial standards.

The AHRC has written a separate letter to the UN Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, and the Working Group on arbitrary detention.

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

SAMPLE LETTER

Dear ………………..,

INDONESIA: A 16-year-old boy tortured to death by nine police officers

Name of victim: Ramadan Suhuddin and six of his friends
Names of alleged perpetrators: nine police officers of Samarinda Municipality Police Office
Date of incident: 16 October 2011
Place of incident: Samarinda Municipality Police Office, Jalan Otto Iskandar Dinata, Samarinda City, East Kalimantan Province, Indonesia

I am writing to voice my deep concern regarding the torture to death of Ramadan Suhuddin, a sixteen-year-old boy, in the Municipality Police Office of Samarinda City, East Kalimantan Province, Indonesia. The alleged perpetrators still remain unpunished.

On 16 October 2011, Ramadan Suhuddin and his six friends were arrested by police officers of Samarinda Municipality Police, in Jalan Otto Iskandar Dinata, Samarinda City, East Kalimantan Province. Ramadan and his friends were arrested because they were allegedly involved in a motorcycle theft. The police officers dragged them and beat them on their heads.

It has come to my notice that Ramadan and the six other suspects were taken to Samarinda Municipality Police Office; three of them were blindfolded with duct tape. Ramadan Suhuddin, and two others were not blindfolded. The nine perpetrator officers hit the victims on the stomach and mouth until they were bloodied.

One of the officers hit Ramadan on the back of his head with a folded chair; this resulted in brain injury, as stated by the autopsy result. The other officers hit Ramadan on his stomach and chest, either with bare hands or with a rattan stick. The torture resulted in Ramadan Suhuddin’s death.

The Samarinda Municipality Police Office, in its explanation, stated that the death of Ramadan Suhuddin was not because of torture conducted in the investigation room at Samarinda Municipality Police, but because the victim had overdosed with illegal drugs and because he suffered from a disease.

I now know that, so far, while the investigation process related to the case has been conducted, only one police officer is indicted with a criminal charge; eight other officers have only been questioned in the internal police enquiry, known in Indonesia as the ethic mechanism.

I am informed that the verdict of Samarinda District Court and the verdict of cassation in the Supreme Court state that the cause of the victim’s death is the torture conducted by eight police officers of the Samarinda Municipality Police Office.

It appears that since the beginning of the investigation, the police investigators have sought to weaken the case. Some facts that appear to be controversial are that:

Firstly, in relation to the Police Report Number: TBL/1190/X/2011/Resta Smd, dated 18 October 2011, the police investigators initially only charged the perpetrators under Article 170 and 351 of the Indonesian Criminal Code (KUHP). The police investigators did not include Law No. 23 of 2002 concerning Child Protection. The police did not take into consideration the fact that Ramadan Suhuddin was underage. However, after media coverage and public pressure, the District Attorney as the State Prosecutor returned the indictment document to the police; subsequently the police included Law No. 23 of 2002.

Secondly, though the torture was allegedly committed by nine police officers, the police investigators only charged one officer, namely Mr. Anwar. Meanwhile the other perpetrators only become witnesses of the alleged torture.

Thirdly, the police investigators did not take into consideration the confession of eight other suspects who witnessed the torture to death of Ramadan Suhuddin. Moreover, the investigators also ignored the confession of other suspects that they were threatened by the police officers not to attend the case reconstruction at the site of torture.

Fourthly, the police investigators conclude that the cause of death in the case of Ramadan Suhuddin’s is his having fallen off a motorcycle due to an overdose of alcohol.

These facts appear to constitute fabrication and appear to have resulted in unfair trial. The police are reluctant to disclose real facts of the case. Therefore, I respectfully request that you:

  1. Urge the chief of national police and chief of police Area of East Kalimantan to conduct proper, accountable, and impartial investigation of the perpetrators;
  2. Urge the National Police Commission (Kompolnas) to monitor the National Police while they fulfill their duties to incorporate the human rights principals and other legal obligations that apply to policing;
  3. Urge the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) and the Ombudsman of Republic of Indonesia to monitor the law process that will be conducted by the Chief of National Police;
  4. Urge the House of Representatives to immediately revise the Indonesian Penal Code to ensure that torture is treated as a crime that must be criminally charged and punished.

Yours Sincerely,

……………….

PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:

1. Mr. Joko Widodo 
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. Mr. Yasonna Laoly
Minister of Law and Human Rights; and
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. Dr. Mualimin Abdi SH., MH
Director General of Human Rights
Office of the Director General of Human Rights
Jl. HR Rasuna Said Kav. 6–7
Kuningan, Jakarta 12940
INDONESIA
Tel: +62 21 5253006
Fax: +62 21 5253095

4. Commissioner General Badroedin Haiti 
Deputy National Police Chief 
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

5. Mr. Tedjo Edhy Purdijatno
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 

6. Inspector General Andayono
the Chief of Police Area of East Kalimantan Province [Kapolda]
Jalan Syarifuddin Yoes No 99 Balikpapan
INDONESIA
Tel: +62 542421220
Fax: +62 542 -36412

7. Mr. Nur Kholis 
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)