Home / News / Urgent Appeals / INDONESIA: Alleged severe torture of six teenage youth by police over petty quarrel
 

INDONESIA: Alleged severe torture of six teenage youth by police over petty quarrel

April 11, 2007

URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Urgent Appeal

12 April 2007
---------------------------------------------------------------------
UA-121-2007: INDONESIA: Alleged severe torture of six teenage youth by police over petty quarrel 

INDONESIA: Torture of a Minor; Police Corruption and Brutality; Defunct Rule-of-Law.

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

Dear Friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from the Association of Initiative Developing and People Advocacy (PIAR) of the alleged brutal torture of a teenage youth, Mr. Odi Modokh, and his five friends at the Manggarai Resort Police Station in the South-Eastern district of Nusa Tengurra, Indonesia on 29 and 30 January 2007. At the time of writing the victims are still being detained at the police station and have been denied medical attention despite the severe injuries that they sustained by torture. We call for your urgent intervention into this matter. Please urge the Indonesian authorities to immediately provide medical treatment to the victims, inquire about the alleged torture of the victims and bring the alleged perpetrators to justice. 

CASE DETAILS:

On 28 January 2007 at around 10pm, Mr. Odi Modokh and his five friends namely Mr. Arnoldus Janggur, Mr. Albertus Benda, Mr. Marseinus Janggur, Mr. Dohol Janggur, and Mr. Beni Herwanto were socializing outside a local convenience store on Yos Sudarso Road when an attractive woman passed by. The young teenage boys whistled and cat-called at the woman. A few minutes later, the said woman returned with a man and singled out one of the boys, Mr. Albertus Benda. The man started to quarrel with Mr. Benda. Overhearing this argument, Mr. Modokh intervened on his friend's behalf and began to quarrel with the couple as well. He apparently then slapped the man. The couple then left.

At around 11pm that same night, Mr. Modokh, Mr. Benda and their friends were on their way home when six men on motorbikes barricaded their way. Grabbing Mr. Modokh, they then proceeded to the Mangarrai Resort Police Station in the South-Eastern district of Nusa Tengurra.

After being informed about the incident, Mr. Modokh's family rushed to the Mangarrai Resort Police Station and begged the Deputy Chief of Police to ensure that young Odi would not be tortured. They stayed at the police station until 1:00am the following morning, waiting for word of their young son.

It is alleged that Mr. Modokh was severely tortured whilst in detention; he later identified one of his abductors and a police officer, Eko Chayora, as one of the two officers who tortured him.

On 29 January 2007, the five friends of the victim came to the said police station with their families to enquire about their friend. All five boys were detained overnight at the Police Station, where they too were brutally tortured by the said two officers on 30 January 2007.

It has been reported that Mr. Arnoldus Janggur sustained severe head injuries from his ordeal, and fell into semi-consciousness. He along with the other five friends remains in detention at the Mangarrai Resort Police Station and the police have not provided any medical attention for them. Meanwhile, no investigation has been launched into the alleged torture of the victims by any of the police and governmental authorities.  

The AHRC is deeply concerned by the incident. It is true that the victims offended the couple but the police should have dealt with this matter through a lawful procedure. In any circumstances, the police or any other law enforcement officers must not torture arrestees. The actions of the police in this case is in clear violation of the right to security and right not to be tortured, which are guaranteed in Indonesian Constitution as well as the UN Convention against Torture (CAT) to which Indonesia is a state party. 

Furthermore, the arrest of Mr. Modokh was not conducted in a legal manner. Although one of the persons who took him to the police station is in fact a police officer of the Mangarrai Resort Police Station, the manner of Mr. Modokh’s arrest was more like an 'abduction'. The AHRC suspects that the victims were subjected to brutal torture as an act of revenge due to some connection between the said police officer and the couple or other abductors. 


SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write to the relevant authorities listed below expressing your grave concern regarding this case. Please urge them to take prompt action to provide medical assistance to the victims and to punish the alleged perpetrators by law. 

Sample letter:


Dear __________,

INDONESIA: Alleged severe torture of six teenage youth by police over petty quarrel 

Name of victims:
1) Mr. Odi Modokh, 2) Mr. Arnoldus Janggur, 3) Mr. Albertus Benda, 4) Mr. Marseinus Janggur, 5) Mr. Dohol Janggur, 6) Mr. Beni Herwanto
(All of them are detained at the Manggarai Resort Police Station as of 12 April 2007)
Alleged perpetrators:
1. Mr. Eko Chayora, officer attached to the Manggarai Resort Police Station, Nusa Tenggura district, South-Eastern Indonesia 
2. One officer responsible for victim 1's unlawful arrest and torture, attached to the Manggarai Resort Police Station (can be identified by Victim 1)
Date of incident: 29 and 30 January 2007
Place of incident: Manggarai Resort Police Station in Nusa Tenggura district

I am writing to voice my deep concern regarding the brutal torture of six teenage youths named above at the Manggarai Resort Police Station in the South-Eastern district of Nusa Tengurra on 29 and 30 January 2007.

According to the information I have received, at around 10pm on 28 January 2007, the six young men had a quarrel with a couple outside a local convenience store on Yos Sudarso Road, after they whistled and cat-called at the woman. During the quarrel, Mr. Odi Modokh slapped the man. On the way back home at around 11pm, Mr. Modokh was forcibly taken by six men on motorbikes, who brought him to the Mangarrai Resort Police Station.

I am informed that in early hours of January 29, Mr. Modokh was severely tortured by two police officers while in custody. He identified one police officer Mr. Eko Chayora and another police officer, who was one of the six persons forcibly took him to the police station, as his torturers.

On 29 January 2007, the other five youths were also taken into custody when they went to the police station to enquire about Mr. Modokh. While being detained there overnight, all five youths too were brutally tortured by the said two police officers. It has been reported that Mr. Arnoldus Janggur sustained severe head injuries from his ordeal, and fell in a state of semi-consciousness. He along with his friends is being still detained at the Mangarrai Resort Police Station and the police have not provided any medical attention to them. Not surprisingly, no action has been initiated to investigate this police torture and to take action against the alleged perpetrators. 


I am appalled by such brutal behaviour of the Mangarrai Resort Police shown in this case. Even in the victims committed some wrongdoings, the police should have dealt with this matter through a lawful procedure. In any circumstances, police torture cannot be justified. This is also in violation of the right to security and right not to be tortured guaranteed in Indonesian Constitution as well as the UN Convention against Torture (CAT) to which Indonesia is a state party. 

I am also concerned that the arrest of Mr. Modokh was not made in a lawful way, although one of the persons took him to the police station is in fact the police officer of the Mangarrai Resort Police Station. It seems to me that Mr. Modokh was almost 'abducted' not 'arrested'. I suspect that the victims might be subjected to brutal torture as a revenge, due to some connection between the said police officer and the couple/or other abductors. 

It is a well known fact that torture has become somewhat of an institutional practice amongst the police in Indonesia, and that it continues both unabated and unpunished, which in my opinion, is equivalent to directly encouraging it. Therefore, I strongly urge you to take all necessary steps in ensuring that an immediate and proper investigation be conducted into this case without further delay, and that prosecution against the two police officers concerned be taken immediately. Medical assistance should be immediately given to the victims and they should be allowed to be released on bail as their offence is petty. Furthermore, it is imperative that the Government provide adequate financial compensation to the victims, and their families, amongst other forms of assistance.

I look forward to your prompt and effective response in this matter.


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

PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:

1. 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

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

3.

4. Mr. Abdul Hakim Garuda Nusantara
Chairperson
KOMNAS HAM
Jl. Latuharhary No. 4B Menteng
Jakarta Pusat 10310
INDONESIA
Tel: +62 21 3925230
Fax: +62 21 3151042/3925227 

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


Thank you.

Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ahrchk@ahrchk.org)

 

Mr. Hamid Awaluddin
Minister of Justice and Human Rights
JI. H.R. Rasuna Said Kav. 6-7
Kuningan, Jakarta Selatan
INDONESIA
Fax: +62 21 525 3095.
Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Case
Document ID :
UA-121-2007
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.