Home / News / Urgent Appeals / INDONESIA: Innocent person arrested on false charges and tortured in police custody

INDONESIA: Innocent person arrested on false charges and tortured in police custody

December 29, 2009

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION – URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Urgent Appeal Case: AHRC-UAC-178-2009

24 December 2009
------------------------------------------------------
INDONESIA: Innocent person arrested on false charges and tortured in police custody

ISSUES: Arbitrary arrest; police; police assault
------------------------------------------------------

Dear friends,

The Asian Human Right Commission (AHRC) has received information that police officers of the sector police of the Beji subdistrict of Depok city in West Java illegally arrested Mr. J.J. Rizal with the heavy use of violence which resulted in serious injuries.

CASE DETAILS:

According to information from the Commission for The Disappeared and Victims of Violence (KontraS) in Jakarta, Mr. J.J. Rizal was arrested on Saturday night, December 5, 2009, during a music concert at the Margo City Shopping Centre in Depok city. Prior to his arrest there had been numerous reports of pick pocket thefts in this mass gathering and these were reported to the sector police of Beji. Mr. JJ Rizal had just arrived moments before at the nearby train station (Pondok Cina KRL Station) from Jakarta and was trying to find a motorcycle taxi to get to his home, when he was suddenly grabbed by a group of policemen. The police suspected Mr. Rizal to be one of the alleged pickpockets and arrested him. When arresting the victim, the police officers beat him about the head and pointed a gun at him. Mr. Rizal shouted for help; however, the bystanders did not dare to interfere with the police action. The violence perpetrated on the victim resulted in a split upper lip, bleeding from the nose, swollen eyes and cheeks.

He was also struck about the ears which resulted in damage to his hearing. Some of the officers involved in the arrest did not were uniforms. Others only identified themselves as police officers after the victim was detained.

After some inquiries about this serious incident to the police station, on the following morning, Sunday, December 6, 2009, Police Commissioner Adjutant Mr. Sukardi the head of the Beji sector police, acknowledged to the media that four of his subordinates arbitrarily arrested Mr. J.J. Rizal and falsely accused him of theft. Mr. Rizal then filed a complaint against the police at the Jakarta Metropolitan Police. The internal disciplinary unit of the Jakarta Metropolitan police investigated the complaint of the victim against the four police officers Brigadier S., Brigadier I, A., Brigadier I, M.S. and Brigadier I S. Head of the Beij sector police station thereupon requested his subordinates to go to the victims house and apologize, which they did.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:

It is common for Indonesian police to use disproportionate violence against suspects. In most cases they are wearing civilian clothes, offer no formal identification and show no respect for formal police procedures and the rights of the victim are ignored.

As a state party of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Right (ICCPR) the Indonesian government must respect and fulfill the contents of this covenant. This case violated several articles of the ICCPR such as article 2 (guarantee of human right), article 7 (right to freedom of inhuman treatment), article 9 p. 1 (right to freedom of arbitrary and arrest detention), article 15 (presumption of innocence). Furthermore, the victim is also entitled to compensation as laid out in Article 14 of the CAT and Articles 2 (3) and 9 (5) of the ICCPR.

At the national level, protection of human rights has been legally enshrined in the law no 39 of 1999 regarding Human Right in particular article 2 and chapter XA of the 1945 constitution.

In 2009, the Chief of the Indonesian National Police enacted the regulation of the Chief of Indonesian National Police Number 8 of 2009 which deals with the Implementation of Human Rights Principles and Standards in the Discharge of Duties of The Indonesian National Police.

SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please send your letters to the authorities listed below to asking their intervention and call on the National Police Commission to investigate the violence which conducts by police officers.

The AHRC has written to the Special Rapporteur on the Question of Torture.

To support this appeal please click here:

------------------------------------------------------

SAMPLE LETTER:

Dear _______________,

Re: INDONESIA: Innocent person arrested on false charges and tortured in police custody

Name of Victim: Mr. J.J. Rizal
Name of alleged perpetrators:
Police officers of sector police Beji of Depok city ;
1. Brigadier, S
2. Brigadier (1), A
3. Brigadier (1), MS
4. Brigadier (1 ), S

I am writing to voice my deep concern regarding police violence that was conducted by police officers of sector police Beji of Depok city against Mr. J.J. Rizal in front of Depok Town Square of Depok city of West Java Province.

According to information from the Commission for The Disappeared and Victims of Violence (KontraS) in Jakarta, Mr. J.J. Rizal was arrested on Saturday night, December 5, 2009, during a music concert at the Margo City Shopping Centre in Depok city. Prior to his arrest there had been numerous reports of pick pocket thefts in this mass gathering and these were reported to the sector police of Beji. Mr. JJ Rizal had just arrived moments before at the nearby train station (Pondok Cina KRL Station) from Jakarta and was trying to find a motorcycle taxi to get to his home, when he was suddenly grabbed by a group of policemen. The police suspected Mr. Rizal to be one of the alleged pickpockets and arrested him. When arresting the victim, the police officers beat him about the head and pointed a gun at him. Mr. Rizal shouted for help; however, the bystanders did not dare to interfere with the police action. The violence perpetrated on the victim resulted in a split upper lip, bleeding from the nose, swollen eyes and cheeks.

He was also struck about the ears which resulted in damage to his hearing. Some of the officers involved in the arrest did not were uniforms. Others only identified themselves as police officers after the victim was detained.

After some inquiries about this serious incident to the police station, on the following morning, Sunday, December 6, 2009, Police Commissioner Adjutant Mr. Sukardi the head of the Beji sector police, acknowledged to the media that four of his subordinates arbitrarily arrested Mr. J.J. Rizal and falsely accused him of theft. Mr. Rizal then filed a complaint against the police at the Jakarta Metropolitan Police. The internal disciplinary unit of the Jakarta Metropolitan police investigated the complaint of the victim against the four police officers Brigadier S., Brigadier I, A., Brigadier I, M.S. and Brigadier I S. Head of the Beij sector police station thereupon requested his subordinates to go to the victims house and apologize, which they did.

I urge you to ensure a thorough investigation and that disciplinary and legal action be imposed on the police officers involved. I also call for the effective implementation of the Regulation of the Chief of Indonesian National Police Number 8 of 2009, which was enacted to deal with the Implementation of Human Rights Principles and Standards in the Discharge of Duties of The Indonesian National Police.

I look forward to your action in this matter.

Yours sincerely,

----------------
PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:

1. AKP. Sukardi
Head of sector police Beji of Depok city
Jl. H Amawi No. 23 Beji of Depok city of West Java
INDONESIA
Fax: +62 21 7520532
Tel: +62 21 7520532

2. Inspector General Pol. Wahyono
Head of Jakarta Metropolitan Police
Kepala Kepolisian Daerah Metro Jakarta Raya
Kapolda Metro Jaya
Jalan Sudirman Kavling 55
Jakarta Selatan
INDONESIA
Fax: +62 21 5234051
Tel: +62 21 5234262

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

4. Mr. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
President of Republic of Indonesia
Presidential Palace,
Jl. Medan Merdeka Utara Jakarta Pusat 10010
INDONESIA
Fax: +62 21 231 4138, 345 2685, 345 7782
Tel: +62 21 384 5627, ext. 1003
Email: mallarangeng@yahoo.com

5. Mr. Adnan Pandu Praja
Chairman of the national police commission (Kompolnas)
Jl. Tirtayasa VII No. 20 Komplek PTIK Jakarta Selatan
INDONESIA
Fax: +62 21 739 2317
Tel: +62 21 739 2352

6. Mr. Patrialis Akbar
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. Beny K Harman
Chairman of Commission one of The House of Representative
(Komisi III DPR RI)
Jl. Gatot Subroto No. 6 Jakarta
INDONESIA
Fax: +62 21 5715566
Tel: +62 21 5715569

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

Thank you.

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

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Case
Document ID :
AHRC-UAC-178-2009
Countries :
Issues :
Document Actions
Share |
Subscribe to our Mailing List
Follow AHRC
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.