Home / News / Urgent Appeals / INDONESIA: Medan District Police again bring the Rule-of-Law into dispute with the brutal murder of an innocent man

INDONESIA: Medan District Police again bring the Rule-of-Law into dispute with the brutal murder of an innocent man

May 4, 2007

Bahasa Indonesian

URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION – URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Urgent Appeal

4 May 2007
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UA-146-2007:INDONESIA: Medan District Police again bring the Rule-of-Law into dispute with the brutal murder of an innocent man

INDONESIA: Arbitrary arrest; robbery; police brutality; murder of innocent civilians; defunct Criminal investigation system.
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Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding the brutal murder of Mr. Suherman, for reasons yet unknown, by Police Officers of the Medan District Police on the 11th April 2007.

On the 11th April 2007, at around 3:30a.m., around 30 yet unidentified men claiming to be Medan District Police Officers forced their way into Ms. Supiah's (the victim's sister's) home, demanding to see Mr. Suherman. When  Ms. Supiah replied that Mr. Suherman was not at home, the attackers held him and his family at gunpoint while they proceeded to ransack his home. They seized two mobile phones; this, done without producing a search warrant.

They then forced Ms. Supiah to take them to her brother's home. Barging into Mr. Suherman's home, they promptly arrested him, and again without a search warrant, ransacked his home in a similar fashion. According to Mr. Suherman's wife, Juliana, they seized 50 bracelets, 2 rings, 2 gold necklaces, 5 watches, 2 handbags, 1 ATM card, 4 mobile phones, 1 passport, 3 land-property certificates, 4 motorcycles, 1 car and 109 million Rupiah.

Juliana and their children were then taken to the Medan Sub-District Police Station where they were investigated by the Police. Mr. Suherman was taken in the opposite direction to a yet unknown location. At around 6 a.m, Juliana was informed that her husband's dead body had been found. Autopsy reports later showed that Mr. Suherman had been shot in the chest. He also suffered bullet wounds to the left side of the navel, and hip. Shockingly, Juliana was not allowed to identify her husband's body- as is standard police procedure.

It was only at the Bhayangkara Hospital, where Juliana was finally allowed to see her late husband's body, at 6pm that same day. At the hospital, a police Officer approached Juliana and gave her an envelope containing 500,000 Rupiah "compensation". At around 7pm., Mr. Suherman's corpse was brought back to the family residence. Mr. Suherman was laid to rest at the Mandala Memorial Park at 8:30 p.m., that same day. 

 
SUGGESTED ACTION:

Please write to the relevant authorities listed below, expressing your grave concern and ethical disgust at the illegal arrest, robbery, abduction and murder or Mr. Suherman, by so-called "law enforcement" Officers of the Medan District Police.

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Suggested letter:

Dear __________,

INDONESIA: Medan District Police again bring the Rule-of-Law into dispute with the brutal murder of an innocent man

Name of victim: Mr. Suherman
Name of alleged perpetrators: 30 yet unidentified men claiming to be Officers of the Medan District Police.
Date of incident: 11th April 2007
Place of incident: Mr. Suherman's residence: Trikora 26, Tegal Sari, Medan, Northern Sumatera.  Undisclosed location where the murder took place.

I am writing to voice my deep concern regarding the cold-blooded murder of Mr. Suherman, for reasons yet unknown, by Police Officers of the Medan District Police on the 11th April 2007.

On the 11th April 2007, at around 3:30a.m., around 30 yet unidentified men claiming to be Medan District Police Officers forced their way into Ms. Supiah's (the victim's sister's) home, demanding to see Mr. Suherman. When  Ms. Supiah replied that Mr. Suherman was not at home, the attackers held him and his family at gunpoint while they proceeded to ransack his home. They seized two mobile phones; this, done without producing a search warrant.

They then forced Ms. Supiah to take them to her brother's home. Barging into Mr. Suherman's home, they promptly arrested him, and again without a search warrant, ransacked his home in a similar fashion. According to Mr. Suherman's wife, Juliana, they seized 50 bracelets, 2 rings, 2 gold necklaces, 5 watches, 2 handbags, 1 ATM card, 4 mobile phones, 1 passport, 3 land-property certificates, 4 motorcycles, 1 car and 109 million Rupiah.

Juliana and their children were then taken to the Medan Sub-District Police Station where they were investigated by the Police. Mr. Suherman was taken in the opposite direction to a yet unknown location. At around 6 a.m, Juliana was informed that her husband's dead body had been found. Autopsy reports later showed that Mr. Suherman had been shot in the chest. He also suffered bullet wounds to the left side of the navel, and hip. Shockingly, Juliana was not allowed to identify her husband's body- as is standard police procedure.

It was only at the Bhayangkara Hospital, where Juliana was finally allowed to see her late husband's body, at 6pm that same day. At the hospital, a police Officer approached Juliana and gave her an envelope containing 500,000 Rupiah "compensation". At around 7pm., Mr. Suherman's corpse was brought back to the family residence. Mr. Suherman was laid to rest at the Mandala Memorial Park at 8:30 p.m., that same day. 

I understand that Indonesia was elected to the UN Human Rights Council in 2006. As such, it should be made the primary priority of the Indonesian Government to protect and uphold these fundamental human rights for its citizens. More importantly, flagrant abuses by people in state-appointed positions of authority such as seen here should not be tolerated.

I therefore strongly urge you to apply the necessary pressure on the relevant judicial and law-enforcement authorities in the Medan District to conduct an official investigation into Mr. Suherman's murder, and to take proper prosecutory action against the guilty Officers of the Medan District Police. In addition, adequate compensation should be paid to the victim's bereaved family without further delay. This is the second case of unlawful arrest and cold-blooded murder of an otherwise innocent civilian by the Medan District Police in this month alone; which is both shocking and completely unacceptable.

Although the reasons for Mr. Wijaya's murder remain a mystery, that it was committed by state-appointed Police Officers, is a moral outrage and should be treated as such. I also find it hard to understand the reluctance on the part of the Indonesian government to pass appropriate legislation both for preventive and remedial action. The reluctance on the part of the state can be interpreted as condoning this type crime. I trust that you will take immediate action both to remedy the situation and for prevention of such crimes in future.

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

Yours sincerely,


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PLEASE SEND COPIES TO:


1. Mr. Susilo Bambang Yudoyono
President
Republic of Indonesia
Presidential Palace
Jl. Medan Merdeka Utara
Jakarta Pusat 10010
INDONESIA
Tel: + 62 21 3845627 ext 1003
Fax: + 62 21 231 41 38, 345 2685, 345 7782

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

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

4. Mr. Hamid Awaluddin
Minister of Justice and Human Rights
Uahi Utoyo Usman S.H.
Menteri Kehkiman
JI. H.R. Rosuna Said Kav. 6-7
Kuningan, Jakarta Selatan
INDONESIA
Fax: +62 21 525 3095

5. 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
E-mail: info@komnasham.or.id

6. Mr. Philip Alston
Special Rapporteur on Extra-judicial, Summary, or Arbitrary Executions
Attn: Lydie Ventre
Room 3-016
c/o OHCHR-UNOG
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Tel: +41 22 917 9155
Fax: +41 22 917 9006 (ATTN: SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR EXECUTIONS)

Thank you.

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

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Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Case
Document ID :
UA-146-2007
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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.