Home / News / Urgent Appeals / INDONESIA: Police deny visit of family members and legal access to arrestee
 

INDONESIA: Police deny visit of family members and legal access to arrestee

August 6, 2007

URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION – URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Urgent Appeal

7 August 2007
------------------------------------
UA-243-2007: INDONESIA: Police deny visit of family members and legal access to arrestee

INDONESIA: Arbitrary arrest and detention; denial of visit; no rule of law
------------------------------------

Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute regarding the arbitrary arrest and detention of a man who has been detained in Cengkareng Police Precinct since 28 May 2007. By this time, his family and the lawyer appointed by family members have been denied permission to visit the man.

CASE DETAILS:

According to the information we have received from the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute, at around 3pm on 28 May 2007, when Mr. Mas Udin was doing his usual work of collecting building ruins for a living, five police officers from a special force called 'BUSER' in plain clothes arrested him without any arrest warrant. The police officers interrogated him at the scene of the arrest and took him to Cengkareng Police Precinct where he was subsequently detained.

It was believed that Mr. Mas Udin's arrest was in connection with the murder of a victim named Rahmat that took place 43 days earlier. While he was being interrogated, the police officers forced him to produce the evidence of the murder. But the brother of the murder victim, Nurjaya, who witnessed the murder, declared Udin's appearance to be different to that of the suspect in the murder.

Mr. Mas Udin has been detained at the Cengkareng Police Precinct (Kepolisian RI, Sektor Cengkareng, Jakarta Barat) since his arrest on May 28. There have been several attempts by staffs of the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute to visit him at his detention cell but they were repeatedly denied entry by the police for various reasons. Their refusal is said to be due to an administration provision which was not regulated in the Indonesian Criminal Procedure Law.

As requested by the victim's family, the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute filed a case against the Indonesian Police for the illegal detention before the Jakarta Barat District Court. The court hearing was held from 24 to 31 July 2007. However, the case, registered as Mas Udin's family v. the Indonesia Police number 05/Pid/pra/2007/PN.JKT.BAR, was dismissed. It was later known that the police appointed a lawyer for the victim whereas the victim's family appointed the Institute as a legal representative.

While the family and their appointed lawyer had been continuously denied to see the victim, his condition has so far not been ascertained.

The AHRC is gravely concerned by continuous denial of visit by the family members to the victim. Even though the police insist that they have appointed a lawyer for the victim however, the police do not have a right to prohibit the family members to visit the victim for over 2 months since his arrest.

SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write letters to the concerned authorities requesting them to ensure the access to the victim by his family and the right to choose a legal assistance on his own decision.

Sample letter:

Dear __________,

INDONESIA: Police deny visit of family members and legal access to arrestee

Name of the victim: Mas Udin, aged 22, labour worker of Pedongkelan Belakang, residing at RT 11/16, Kelurahan Kapuk, Kecamatan Cengkareng, Jakarta Barat
Alleged perpetrators: five special police force from Cengkareng police
Date of incident: from 28 May 2007 to present
Place of detained at: Cengkareng Police Precinct, Jakarta Barat

I am writing to draw your attention to the case of Mas Udin, a 22-year-old man whom police officers allegedly illegally arrested in 28 May 2007. He is presently detained at the Cengkareng Police Precinct. Udin was arbitrarily arrested by five police special force while he was collecting building ruins for a living.

I have learned that the police officers arresting him have failed to show any arrest warrants and did not wear police uniforms when they arrested him. They had the victim interrogated at the place where he was arrested and was forced to produce evidence of a murder of one Rahmat that took place 43 days earlier. The brother of the murder victim, Nurjaya, who had witnessed the murder, however described the suspect's appearance is different from that of Udin.

When the complaint against the Indonesian Police for illegal arrest and detention was filed, the court however had dismissed the case. The complaint was registered as Mas Udin's family v. the Indonesia Police number 05/Pid/pra/2007/PN.JKT.BAR. I am deeply concerned however that the case could have not been thoroughly reviews when it was dismissed.

Firstly, the victim has not been allowed to consult with the legal counsel of his own choice since his arrest. The legal aids assisting him were not allowed free access to his detention center. Therefore, there are serious concerns that he was not properly represented in court; and the circumstances of his arrest are yet to be known. Although the police had already given him legal counsel, it was not of his own choice as required in the lawful process.

I am deeply concerned of the victim's denial of his right to be visited by legal aid and the continued refusal by the Cengkareng Police Precinct to have him visited inside his detention center. To deny a prisoner visits while in detention is unacceptable. Jail visitation is a basic right to that should have been guaranteed. I therefore urge you to ensure the police precinct concerned this is done.

Secondly, I urge you to ensure that a thorough review is conducted promptly into the victim's case. Allegations that his arrest could have been done by mistaken identity and that his appearance does not fit to the witness' description of the murder suspect must be seriously considered. Unless this is resolved independently by way of credible investigation, it could seriously undermine the judicial process and poses a risk of prosecuting an innocent person.

Yours sincerely,

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

PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:

1. Gen. Sutanto
Chief of National Police
Jl. Trunojoyo No. 3
Jakarta Selatan
INDONESIA
Tel: +62 21 721 8012 / 721 8144
Fax: +62 21 720 7277

2. Cengkareng Police Precinct (Kepolisian Sektor Cengkareng)
Jl. Kamal Raya, Cengkareng
Jakarta Barat 11730
INDONESIA
Fax: +62 21 570 3037 / +62 21 523 4051

3. Jakarta Barat District Court (Pengadilan Negeri Jakarta Barat)
Jl. S. Parman Nomor 71
Jakarta Barat
INDONESIA
Phone: +62 21 535 9831
Fax: +62 21 532 2312

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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 4138 / 345 2685 / 345 7782

7. 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-243-2007
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.