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INDONESIA: Alleged extra-judicial killing of a man by the Resort Police of West Jakarta

February 15, 2006

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ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION – URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Urgent Appeal

15 February 2006
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UA-063-2006: INDONESIA: Alleged extra-judicial killing of a man by the Resort Police of West Jakarta

INDONESIA: Illegal detention; Torture; Extrajudicial killings; Impunity
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Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information on the alleged extrajudicial killing of Dayus (48) an entrepreneur, by the Resort Police of West Jakarta.  

At approximately 5:00pm on January 24, the Resort Police of West Jakarta arrested Dayus and Iwan, on drug charges following the discovery of drugs in their house. However the police did not take Dayus and Iwan to the police station, instead they were taken to the Spark Hotel and were illegally detained and questioned for two days. There is a possibility that Dayus and Iwan might have been tortured during the interrogation, considering the common practice of torture by police in Indonesia.

According to information received, the police later arrested four other men; Dida, Herman, Bonek and Dewi. The police released Dida, Iwan and Dewi due to insufficient evidence.  However, Dayus, Herman and Bonek remained under arrest. Dida later reported  that in order to secure his release, he bribed the police officers of the Resort Police of the West Jakarta with 5 million Rupiahs (USD $542). Upon his release, Dida also informed Dayus’s family of his whereabouts as the police had not been informed the family of the situation.

On January 29, at 1:00am, the Resort Police of West Jakarta telephoned Dayus’s family and informed them that Dayus had died in Pelni’s hospital. According to his medical records, Dayus had died from a brain hemorrhage; his body was also covered with bruises. Following an autopsy conducted by a forensic expert at Cipto Mangunkusumo Public Hospital (RSCM) it was found that Dayus’s death was caused by a violent blow to the head from a blunt object.

Since then, the police officers have released two conflicting statements, which also differ from the autopsy report. An officer from the Resort Police of West Jakarta stated that Dayus had committed suicide. According to the officer, Dayus had voluntarily rammed his head into the wall until he died. By contrast, the Chief police officer Safaruddin, from the Resort Police of West Jakarta, issued that Dayus had been suffering from drug withdrawals and had died when the police had taken him to hospital. Safaruddin denied that Dayus had died due to maltreatment during his detention and to date has not ordered any investigation into Dayus’s suspicious death. However, Safaruddin did mention that if the cause of the death was in fact because of maltreatment, he would investigate his officers.

The AHRC is deeply disturbed by the police’s inaction to investigate Dayus’s death and arrest those responsible, particularly in light of the autopsy report. In addition considering the circumstances of the case, even if a police investigation was launched, we are considered about questions of accountability.

SUGGESTED ACTION:

Please write to the local authorities listed below calling for an immediate and impartial investigation into the alleged extrajudicial killing of the victim by an independent agency. Please urge them to arrest and prosecute those responsible according to the law. Even if the victim’s death was found not to be caused by torture by the police, strong disciplinary action still needs to be taken against the duty officers who were responsible for ensuring the victim’s safely during his custody. Please also request that Dayus’s family be adequately compensated for the loss of their loved one.  

The AHRC is also deeply concerned about the current condition of Herman and Bonek, who are still under police custody. We are requesting that Herman and Bonek be immediately removed from police custody and put into a safe facility run by independent agencies, in order that they are provided with effective protection considering their potential as witnesses of this incident. The AHRC are also seeking an investigation regarding the illegal detention of all the men and alleged police bribery in securing Dida’s release.  Finally, please urge the Indonesian government to strictly implement into domestic law, the UN Convention against Torture (CAT) to which it is a state party.

Sample letter: 

Dear ________,

INDONESIA: Alleged extra-judicial killing of a man by the Resort Police of West Jakarta

Name of victim: Dayus, aged 48, entrepreneur, residing in Jl. Pisangan Baru Tengah IV no. 17, Jatinegara, East Jakarta, Indonesia
Alleged perpetrators: The officers attached to the drugs unit of Resort Police of West Jakarta
Place of incident: The Resort Police of West Jakarta
Period of incident: 24 to 29 January 2006

I am writing to voice my deep concern regarding the suspicious death of Dayus which occurred while he was taken into custody by the Resort Police of West Jakarta.

According to the information that I have received, on 24 January 2006 the Resort Police arrested Dayus and another man Iwan, on alleged drug charges. The police then illegally detained the two men in custody at the Spark’s Hotel, not at the police station. The men were questioned whilst their families were not informed of their arrest. It is unknown whether the two men were tortured.

The police later arrested four other men; Dida, Herman, Bonek and Dewi. The police released Dida, Iwan and Dewi due to insufficient evidence.  However, Dayus, Herman and Bonek remained under arrest. Dida later reported  that in order to secure his release, he bribed the police officers of the Resort Police of the West Jakarta with 5 million Rupiahs (USD $542). Upon his release, Dida also informed Dayus’s family of his whereabouts as the police had not been informed the family of the situation.

On January 29, the Resort Police of West Jakarta telephoned Dayus’s family and informed them that Dayus had died in Pelni’s hospital. According to his medical records, Dayus had died from a brain hemorrhage; his body was also covered with bruises. Following an autopsy conducted by a forensic expert at Cipto Mangunkusumo Public Hospital (RSCM) it was found that Dayus’s death was caused by a violent blow to the head from a blunt object.

I have been made aware that the Resort Police have not accepted responsibility for the death of Dayus. In addition they have released two conflicting statements outlining a cause of death different to that in the autopsy.  That is, an officer in the Resort Police of West Jakarta stated that Dayus had committed suicide by voluntarily ramming his head into the wall. By contrast, the Chief police officer Safaruddin, from the Resort Police of West Jakarta, issued that Dayus had been suffering from drug withdrawals and had died when the police had taken him to hospital. Safaruddin has out rightly denied Dayus’s death was due to maltreatment in detention and has not ordered any investigation into the incident. He has merely promised that, if the cause of the death was in fact maltreatment, he would investigate into his officers.

I am shocked to hear of the violent death of Dayus due to the alleged torture inflicted upon him by the police or, at the very least, the neglect of the Resort Police to ensure his safety while he remained in police detention. I therefore call on you to order a thorough and independent investigation into the death of the victim and to ensure that any police officers involved are identified and prosecuted. The investigation should be conducted by an independent agency as it is questionable of the accountability of the police investigation based on the reaction of the local police. In the event that the officers are found guilty, compensation must also be awarded to the family.

I am also deeply concerned about the current condition of Herman and Bonek, who are still in police custody. I urge you to request that both men be immediately transferred to a  safer institution and provide effective protection considering their ability to be witnesses into Dayus’s death. Finally, I am requesting that the Indonesian government to strictly implement into domestic law, the UN Convention against Torture (CAT) to which it is a state party.

I look forward to your intervention into these matters.

Yours sincerely,


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SEND LETTERS TO:

1. Mr. Hamid Awaluddin
Minister of the Justice and Human Rights Department
Departemen Hukum dan Hak Asasi Manusia
Jl. Rasuna Said Kav. 6-7, Kuningan
Jakarta Selatan
INDONESIA
Fax: + 62 21 5265480 
Email: pp@depkumham.go.id

2. Mr. Abdul Rahman Saleh
Attorney General
Kejaksaan Agung RI
Jl. Sultan Hasanuddin No. 1
Jakarta Selatan
INDONESIA
Tel: + 62 21 7221337, 7397602
Fax: + 62 21 7250213
Email: postmaster@kejaksaan.or.id
 
3. Mr. Abdul Hakim Garuda Nusantara
Chairperson
KOMNAS HAM [National Human Rights Commission of Indonesia]
Jl. Latuharhary No. 4B Menteng
Jakarta Pusat 10310
INDONESIA
Tel: +62 21 3925230
Fax: +62 21 3151042/3925227
E-mail: info@komnasham.or.id

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

5. Inspector-General Firman Gani
Metrojaya Provincial Chief of Police
INDONESIA
Tel: +62-21-523 4001
Fax: +62-21-522 5646

6. Prof. Manfred Nowak
Special Rapporteur on the Question of Torture
Attn: Mr. Safir Syed
c/o OHCHR-UNOG
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Tel: +41 22 917 9230
Fax: +41 22 917 9016 (general)

7. Mr. Philip Alston
Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary, or Arbitrary Executions
Att: Lydie Ventre
Room 3-016
c/o OHCHR-UNOG
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Tel: +41 22 917 9155
Fax: +41 22 917 9006 (general)
E-mail: lventre@ohchr.org


Thank you.

Urgent Appeals Programme (ua@ahrchk.org)
Asian Human Rights Commission (ahrchk@ahrchk.org) 
Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Case
Document ID :
UA-063-2006
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.