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INDONESIA: Man arbitrarily arrested and falsely charged after torture by Benteng police

July 19, 2007

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ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION – URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Urgent Appeal

19 July 2007
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UA-227-2007: INDONESIA: Man arbitrarily arrested and falsely charged after torture by Benteng police

INDONESIA: Arbitrary arrest and detention; torture; no rule of law; falsed charge
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Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from KontraS regarding the arbitrary arrest and alleged assault of a man by Benteng police sector in Tangerang City on 4 July 2007. The man was falsely charged after torture by the police.

CASE DETAILS:

According to the information received from KontraS (The Commission for Disappearances and Victims of Violence), at 10:30am on 4 July 2007, Sumadi (34), along with two of his friends (Agus and Saran) were eating at a food stand by the Tangerang State Courthouse, waiting for the trial of Mr. Lurah, who is Sumadi's employer and also legal guardian. While they were eating, Maryono, a member of the Intelligence and Protection Unit of the Metro Jaya police station (Direktorat Intelkam Polda Metro Jaya) in Jakarta, passed by the food stand dressed in plainclothes. Maryono used to work for Metro Tangerang police station before he was stationed in Jakarta, and he was Sumadi's neighbor. Having good relations with him, Sumadi and his friends greeted him and inquired about his return to the area. Maryono at first refused to reply, but then he said to Sumadi, "I heard that it was you who wanted to kill me. " It was alleged that Maryono's subordinates, Deli and Boy, received a text message that stated Sumadi was going to murder Maryono, which Sumadi denied.

Subsequently, Maryono slapped Sumadi across the face; Sumadi reacted by slapping him back. A fight then broke out between the two of them. Sumadi's friends tried to intervene by holding the two men back. Maryono then called for Deli and Boy who at the time were also not in police uniform to come and arrest Sumadi. Sumadi's friends decided to run into the courthouse and find Mrs. Lurah and Yadi to help them. When they all came looking for Sumadi, they saw Maryono tightly holding Sumadi's arms. Yadi tried to release Sumadi from Maryono's grasp, but Maryono grabbed Yadi's hair, while Deli put his arm around Yadi to stop him further and Boy grabbed Yadi's T-shirt. At the same time, Yadi witnessed Maryono violently and repeatedly hitting Sumadi's face with his fist. Yadi, Mrs. Lurah and Agus tried further to help Sumadi, who eventually was able to release himself from Maryono's clutches. However, when Sumadi tried to get away, the three officers chased after him and grabbed his hair, while dragging him into a public transportation. In the vehicle, they brutally stepped all over Sumadi's body.

The three policemen took Sumadi to Benteng Police Station in Tangerang City. At the station, Sumadi was subjected to further beating by several policemen, whom he could not identify. Due to the assault by the police, Sumadi suffered from a concussion, two open wounds on his head, swollen and bruised eyes and lips, and the skin on his chin was ripped. Sumadi was brought to the hospital to assess his injuries and a medical report was taken.

Maryono, Deli and Boy reported Sumadi to the Benteng Police Station on charges of assaulting a police officer and allegedly threatening to kill Maryono. Thus, Sumadi was placed under arrest and charged under criminal law by the two policemen, Irwan and Agus, from the aforementioned police station. However, his arrest warrant was issued a few days after he had been in jail. Moreover, his family was not allowed to visit him until two days after the incident on 6 July 2007.

On 9 July 2007, the victim was transferred to the Metro Tangerang police station by the investigative police commissioner Supriyanto due to the reason that there were too many policemen getting involved in this case. Through his wife, Ni Komang, the victim has reported this incident on 5 July 2007 to the Metro Jaya Police Department in Jakarta where the main perpetrator, Maryono is stationed. As of now, both parties are charged with the crime of assault. The investigation of this case is still underway as the investigators are compiling a list of interviews with eyewitnesses and a testimony from the victim, Sumadi.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

This type of "law enforcement" is a grave violation of international law as written in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which Indonesia is a signatory. According to Article 9 of the ICCPR, "No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest or detention" (1), and "anyone who is arrested shall be informed, at the time of arrest, of the reasons for his arrest and shall be promptly informed of any charges against him" (2). Moreover, Article 2 states that "any person whose rights or freedoms as herein recognized are violated shall have an effective remedy, notwithstanding that the violation has been committed by persons acting in an official capacity" (3.a). Therefore, the victim should be given compensation and released from police custody, whereas the policemen involved in the assault should be investigated and put on trial.

The Indonesian government ratified the Convention against Torture in 1998 but has so far refused to pass appropriate legislation criminalizing torture with proper punishment. The laws cited above were not implemented in Sumadi's case and even though Indonesia's Criminal Procedure Code specifically cites that the authorities have to comply with the warrant provisions, these procedures are often in practice ignored. Indonesia's Criminal Procedure Code still falls short of international law and standards. Even though law has been revised to include more safeguards for the defendant or suspect, several of its provisions are still weak and do not protect the suspect from abuses of torture and arbitrary arrest and detention.

SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write to the authorities listed below expressing your grave concern regarding the arbitrary arrest and torture of Sumadi. The authorities must exhaust all means to ensure that a conclusive investigation is conducted to guarantee that the perpetrators are effectively prosecuted. Please urge them to finish investigating this case without delay and punish those responsible. The victim must also be afforded appropriate compensation.

Suggested letter:

Dear __________,

INDONESIA: INDONESIA: Man arbitrarily arrested and falsly charged after torture by Benteng police

Name of the victim: Sumadi (34), residing at Jl. Baru Luk RT. 04/02. Bakti Jaya District of Cisauk, Tangerang
Name of alleged perpetrators:
1. Maryono, a member of the Intelligence and Protection Unit of the Metro Jaya police station (Direktorat Intelkam Polda Metro Jaya) in Jakarta
2. Deli and Boy, subordinates of Maryono and work for the Metro Jaya Police Station in Jakarta
3. Unidentified policemen from Benteng Police Station in Tangerang City
Date of incident: 4 July 2007
Places of incident: In the street outside the Tangerang State Courthouse; In a public transportation on the way to Benteng Police Station; Inside the Benteng Police Station

I am writing to voice my deep concern regarding the alleged arbitrary arrest and detention and torture of Sumadi in Tangerang City on 4 July 2007. After being tortured, Sumadi was accused of placing a death threat and assault on Maryono, a high-ranking police officer from Metro Jaya police station in Jakarta. This policeman along with two other non uniformed officers, Deli and Boy, brutally attacked Sumadi on the street with their bare hands. The victims friends tried to rescue him, but the policemen ended up attacking one of his friends too. Subsequently, Sumadi was dragged into a public transportation on the way to Benteng police station where inside the vehicle his body was kicked numerous times. At the aforementioned police station, Sumadi receieved further beatings from unidentified policemen.

I am informed that due to the assault that he experienced, Sumadi suffered from a concussion, two open wounds on his head, swollen and bruised eyes and lips, and the skin on his chin was ripped. Sumadi was brought to the hospital to assess his injuries and a medical report was taken.

I am concerned that the victim is still under police custody because the perpetrators, Maryono, Deli and Boy, have placed criminal charges on Sumadi for assaulting a police officer because they believe Sumadi sent a text message of death threatening with the lack of evidence. However, those policemen severely assaulted Sumadi and tortured him based on the accusations. Moreover, Sumadi was illegally taken into police custody because a warrant was issued only two days after the victim was already arrested.

This procedure is against both the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which Indonesia is a signatory, and the Indonesian Criminal Procedure Code. According to Article 9 of the ICCPR, "No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest or detention" (1), and "anyone who is arrested shall be informed, at the time of arrest, of the reasons for his arrest and shall be promptly informed of any charges against him" (2). Moreover, Article 2 states that "any person whose rights or freedoms as herein recognized are violated shall have an effective remedy, notwithstanding that the violation has been committed by persons acting in an official capacity" (3.a). Therefore, the victim should be given compensation and released from police custody, whereas the policemen involved in the assault should be investigated and put on trial.

What occurred in the case of Sumadi was that he was accused and assaulted by policemen who abused the power of their authority to forcefully detain the victim. Sumadi had been beating by the police at that time of arbitrary arrest, on the way to the police station and inside the police station. Finally he was charged of death threat which the suspect has been unclear and criminal charges. The Indonesian government ratified the Convention against Torture in 1998 but has so far refused to pass appropriate legislation criminalizing torture with proper punishment. The laws cited above were not implemented in Sumadi's case and even though Indonesia's Criminal Procedure Code specifically cites that the authorities have to comply with the warrant provisions, these procedures are often in practice ignored. Indonesia's Criminal Procedure Code still falls short of international law and standards. Even though law has been revised to include more safeguards for the defendant or suspect, several of its provisions are still weak and do not protect the suspect from abuses of torture and arbitrary detention.

This piece of information makes me wonder whether the Indonesian authority finds this a common practice to arrest people without any probable cause or any warrant issued, and then torture them as a way of punishment. I have been informed that this is not the first case of police brutality in Indonesia, and there are numerous reported cases in which victims have been detained after their illegal arrest and even tortured to death. This information worries me because it illustrates that Indonesia has a culture of impunity. Therefore, I strongly demand that those responsible involved in the acts of torture and illegal arrest are fully investigated under proper fair trial procedures. Since Sumadi did not commit a major assault, he is a victim of unlawful arrest, so I urge the Indonesian government to enforce the right to compensation. It is also the duty of the prosecutor and the police department to investigate the people responsible for the heinous act committed against this man.

In light of above, I urge you to conduct legal and disciplinary action against those responsible. Since an investigation is already underway, I urge the authorities to make sure that this is an impartial, proper, and effective investigation and once the investigation has been concluded, the evidence will be presented before the court of law and a trial will take place. The alleged perpetrators should be subjected to suspension or reassignment during the process of investigation if there is a risk that the perpetrator might impede the investigation. I further urge you to take full efforts to stop illegal arrest and torture by the police so that police brutality is no longer 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

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

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. Abdul Hakim Garuda Nusantara
Chairperson
KOMNAS HAM (National Human Rights Commission)
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)

6. Ms. Leïla Zerrougui
Chairperson
UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention
OHCHR-UNOG
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Fax: +41 22 917 9006 (ATTN: WORKING GROUP ARBITRARY DETENTION)

Thank you.

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

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Case
Document ID :
UA-227-2007
Countries :
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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.