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INDONESIA: Young man tortured in police station at Tegal, Central Java

June 21, 2007

Indonesian Bahasa

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ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION -- URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Urgent Appeal

22 June 2007
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UA-201-2007: INDONESIA: Young man tortured in police station at Tegal, Central Java

INDONESIA: Torture; false charge; police brutality; denial of detainee's rights, due process and fair trial
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Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from its local partner in Jakarta regarding a case in which a young man, Kurniawan, was allegedly tortured by police officers at Tegal police headquarters, on 3 May 2007. He was allegedly tortured in an attempt to force him to confess to a case of sexual harassment.
 
CASE DETAILS:

At around 7:30pm on 3 May 2007, Kurniawan had just taken his friend home using a bicycle to Mintaragen Village, Tegal, when he saw a woman riding a bike. From her appearance, Kurniawan believed the woman to be his girlfriend, Dewi. He then approached her and touched her body, but when the woman turned to face him, it was in fact not his girlfriend, but another woman by the name Dwi Astuti. He tried to move away from her, but she grabbed him and they both fell off their bicycles. The woman began to yell for help and subsequently around 10 men came to the location and started to beat Kurniawan, whom they believed to be an assailant. A couple of policemen nearby arrested Kurniawan and took him to the Tagal police headquarters.

At the Tagal police headquarters, the police officers kicked his chest and placed both his feet under the legs of the table while the policemen sat on top of the table. This was done to force a confession and to charge him on a crime against obscenity and assault of the chastity of a woman. After obtaining his confession the police detained him.

Kurniawan is unable to identify the police officers because they were not in uniform during the interrogation. Meanwhile, Kurniawan’s family was able to visit him in jail on 7 May 2007, but the visiting times were limited by the police. Kurniawan’s family has received a detention warrant from Tegal resort police on 22 May 2007 in which the Tegal attorney’s office extended his detention.

Kurniawan’s family has not filed a formal complaint to Komnas Ham (National Human Rights Commission) or to the police fearing further negative repercussions from the authorities.

SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write to the authorities listed below expressing your grave concern regarding the torture suffered by Kurniawan. The authorities must use all legal means to assure that a credible and proper investigation is conducted to guarantee that the perpetrators are effectively prosecuted. The victim must also be afforded appropriate compensation without further delay. The AHRC has already written a separate letter to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Question of Torture for his consideration.

To support this appeal, please click here:

Suggested letter:

Dear __________,

INDONESIA: Young man tortured in police station at Tegal, Central Java

Name of the victim: Kurniawan (Iwan), 23 years old
Alleged perpetrators: Unidentified police officers of Tegal police headquarters, Central Java
Date of incident: 3 May 2007 until recently; the torture is allegedly stopped
Place of incident: Detention room of Tegal police headquarters, Central Java
 
I am writing to voice my deep concern regarding the torture case suffered by Kurniawan. According to the information that I received, Kurniawan was arrested on 3 May 2007 following a sexual harassment act that he allegedly committed against a woman by the name of Dwi Astuti. After being beaten by a mob of 10 people who suspected him to be a sexual assailant, Kurniawan was taken to Tegal police headquarters by the police nearby. 

I am further informed that Kurniawan was interrogated by the police without a lawyer present or his rights being read to him. In order to charge Kurniawan with the crime against decency (sexual harassment, rape, assault of chastity, etc), they forcibly obtained a confession from him through the means of torture. I am also informed that the police kicked his chest and then they placed both his feet under the legs of the table while the policemen sat on top of the table. The victim is unable to identify the perpetrators because the policemen were not in uniform during interrogation. I have also been notified that the family is given limited time by the police to visit Kurniawan while he is detained.

I am deeply concerned that the due process of the law was not conducted in this case by the police officers. The alleged policemen did not follow the formal procedures and rights of individuals at the different stages of investigation and trial. Since Indonesia is a signatory to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), it has a duty to uphold the rights of the suspect or defendant to a fair trial. According to Article 14, the defendant has a right “not to be compelled to testify against himself or to confess guilt.” However, in this particular case torture was used on the suspect to obtain a confession.

The Indonesian government has ratified the Convention against Torture in 1998 but has so far refused to pass appropriate legislation criminalizing torture. To prevent future torture cases, the government must immediately pass proper legislation to ensure that legal punishment be placed on anyone, especially government authorities, from applying this form of ill-treatment on individuals.

I understand that Indonesia’s Criminal Procedure Code still falls short of international law and standards. Several of its provisions still lacks the crucial safeguards to protect the suspect from abuses of torture and arbitrary detention. Therefore, I urge the Indonesian government to revise the Criminal Procedure Code in order to guarantee the right to a fair trial in law and practice. Moreover, there should be a provision that ensures that an individual is not unjustly punished, detained or subject to torture and ill-treatment. One way to prevent such abuses is by requiring that any person who is arrested must be promptly brought before a judge to determine the legality of the arrest or detention, and the suspect must be read his rights, especially the right to a lawyer, before he is interrogated by the police. If the Indonesian government is serious about ending the culture of impunity, it will ensure that fair trial standards are fully implemented at all stages of the investigation and trial procedures.


I therefore urge you to ensure that an effective and proper investigation in this case is conducted, and to drain all means to locate the alleged perpetrators attached to the Tegal Police Headquarters, so that they can be prosecuted. If Kurniawan is found guilty on the grounds of torture by the police, the charge should be denied by the court. Compensation to the victim should be also a matter of concern.

I also urge the government re-elected as a member of Human Rights Council to show its sincerity to protect and uphold the highest standards of human rights for its citizens by proving to make its pledges into reality, in particular to guarantee that perpetrators in this case are held to account and victim's family can obtain redress. More importantly, flagrant abuses by persons in authority should not be tolerated.

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


Yours sincerely,


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PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS 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
Email: presiden@ri.go.id

2. Mr. Hendarman Supandji
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. Gen. Sutanto
Chief of National Police
Jl. Trunojoyo No. 3
Jakarta Selatan
INDONESIA
Tel: +62 21 721 8012
Fax: +62 21 720 7277
Email: polri@polri.go.id

4. Mr. Abdul Hakim Garuda Nusantara
Chairperson
National Human Rights Commission (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

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 (ua@ahrchk.org)

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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.