AI URGENT ACTION JOURNALIST STABBED IN INDONESIA

http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/ASA21/004/2011/en/af581980-0b39-4576-bfe7-d7bc77734e0d/asa210042011en.html

DOCUMENT – INDONESIA: JOURNALIST STABBED IN INDONESIA: BANJIR AMBARITA

UA: 53/11 Index: ASA 21/004/2011 Indonesia Date: 03 March 2011

 

URGENT ACTION
JOURNALIST STABBED IN InDONESIA

In the early hours of 3 March, journalist Banjir Ambarita was stabbed in the Indonesian province of Papua. He is currently in intensive care, recovering after an operation. He is at risk of further attacks and intimidation.

Banjir Ambarita is a journalist with Bintang Papua, a local newspaper, based in Jayapura, Papua province. He was stabbed at about 1 am in the morning of 3 March 2011. Banjir Ambarita was on his motorcycle heading home when the attack occurred. Reliable sources told Amnesty International that when he was in front of the Jayapura Mayor’s office, two men on a motorcycle approached him, stabbed him twice in the chest and stomach and sped off. As he began to bleed, Banjir Ambarita rode his motorcycle to the nearby police station. Police officers took him to the Marthen Indey Hospital in Aryoko, Jayapura. He had an operation on 3 March 2011 and is recovering in hospital.

Banjir Ambarita has worked in Papua province for five years and is also a regular contributor to Vivanews and The Jakarta Globe. He had recently written about two alleged rape cases involving the police. In the first case, which occurred in February 2011, four police officers and three civilians allegedly raped and tortured a 15 year old girl in Biak, Papua province. In a second case, three police officers forced a woman detainee to perform oral sex on them over a three-month period from November 2010 to January 2011 at the Jayapura police detention centre in Papua province. The three officers were reportedly only given disciplinary punishments of 21 days’ detention and a delay of their promotions. The media coverage of the second incident led to the resignation of Jayapura Police Chief Adjunct Senior Commissioner Imam Setiawan on 1 March 2011, and a report on the incident filed by the woman’s husband to the Papua branch of the National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM).

International human rights observers, non-governmental organizations and journalists are severely restricted in their work in Papua amid ongoing reports of serious human rights violations by the police and military.

PLEASE WRITE IMMEDIATELY in Indonesian or your own language calling on authorities in Indonesia:
  • To immediately conduct a prompt, independent and impartial investigation into the attack against Banjir Ambarita and bring the perpetrators to justice in accordance with international fair trial standards;
  • To take immediate steps to provide appropriate protection to Banjir Ambarita, according to his wishes;
  • To initiate an independent investigation into the two reported rape cases highlighted by Banjir Ambarita, and ensure that, should the allegations be verified, those responsible be brought to justice in fair trials and victims receive reparations;
  • To ensure that all human rights defenders in Papua, including local journalists, can work freely, independently and with full protection from state authorities.
PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 14 APRIL 2011 TO:
Papua Police Chief
Inspektur Jenderal Bekto Suprapto
Papua Police Chief (Kapolda)
Jl. Samratulangi No. 8 Jayapura,
Papua,
Indonesia
Fax: +62 967 531717
Salutation: Dear Kapolda
Minister of Justice and Human Rights
Mr. Patrialis Akbar
Ministry of Justice and Human Rights
Jl. H.R. Rasuna Said Kav No. 4-5
Kuningan, Jakarta Selatan 12950 Indonesia
Fax: +62 21 525 3095
Salutation: Dear Minister
Chairperson National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM)
Mr. Ifdhal Kasim
Chairperson National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM)
Jl Latuharhary
No.4 Menteng Jakarta Pusat
10310
Indonesia
Fax: +62 21 39 25 227
Salutation: Dear Ifdhal Kasim
COPIES TO: diplomatic representatives of Indonesia accredited to your country. Please check with your section office if sending appeals after the above date.

URGENT ACTION

JOURNALIST STABBED IN INDONESIA

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

In recent years, there have been a number of cases of intimidation and attacks against human rights defenders and journalists in Indonesia.

In July 2010, Tama Satrya Langkun, a Jakarta based anti-corruption activist, was severely beaten by unknown persons in an apparent move to silence him. That same month, Ardiansyah Matra, a journalist covering corruption and illegal logging in Papua, was found dead in the province. Despite police investigations, no one has yet been held accountable for these attacks.

Amnesty International has documented how victims and witnesses in Papua have little available legal remedies to make complaints about human rights violations. In a report published in June 2009, Amnesty International highlighted weaknesses in internal and external accountability mechanisms to deal with police abuse. To date, these mechanisms have yet to be reviewed.

Please refer to the following documents for more information:

Digest: Amnesty International Papua Digest, January 2011
Document: Open letter on unchecked police abuse in Nabire district, Papua, (Index ASA 21/024/2009), 30 November 2009.
Report: Unfinished business: Police accountability in Indonesia, (Index ASA 21/013/2009), 24 June 2009.
Report: Amnesty International’s briefing to the UN Committee Against Torture, (Index ASA 21/003/2008), 15 April 2008.

UA: 53/11 Index: ASA 21/004/2011 Issue Date: 3 March 2011



Amnesty Urges Torture Charges On Indonesia Soldiers

Amnesty Urges Torture Charges On Indonesia Soldiers

Jan 14 (AFP) — Indonesian soldiers on trial for the alleged brutal
abuse of two Papuans should be charged with torture rather than the
minor offence of disobeying orders, Amnesty International said
Saturday.

The three soldiers appeared Thursday before a military tribunal, after
the online broadcast of a video showing the torture of unarmed men
sparked an outcry.

But they were charged with disobedience to orders rather than more
serious crimes such as illegal detention and abuse.

In the video, posted on YouTube last year, soldiers place a burning
stick to the genitals of an unarmed man and threaten another with a
knife as part of an interrogation about the location of weapons.

“Amnesty International urges the Indonesian authorities to ensure that
the three soldiers… (are) tried in full criminal procedures for
torture or similar crimes,” Amnesty’s Asia-Pacific Deputy Director
Donna Guest said.

Military prosecutors have said they lacked evidence of torture because
the victims would not testify, despite the existence of a CD of the
video and detailed statements given by the victims to human rights
groups.

According to the National Human Rights Commission, the victims would
like to testify but were terrified of military reprisals, and had not
received adequate safety guarantees.

“Amnesty International believes that the civilian courts are much more
likely to ensure both prosecution for the crimes involving human
rights violations and protection for witnesses than the military
system,” Guest said in a statement received by AFP.

Indonesia had pledged to rein in military abuses in regions such as
Papua and the Maluku islands in return for renewed US military
exchanges. The soldiers face a maximum sentence of two and half years
in jail.

West Papuan political prisoners denied food for 2 days

via Tapol

Since 3 December 2010 when Filep Karma and Buchtar Tabuni were transferred to the police authorities in Papua, no legal proceedings have been started against them and they still do not have any legal counsel. They have also been denied food for two days.

Since 4 December, access to the two prisoners has been prevented. Two younger siblings of Karma as well as a representative of the SKPHP tried to visit them on 6 December but they were confronted by police officers. At 4pm, a member of his family asked the police for permission to meet Karma because visiting regulations allowed for daily visits except on holidays and other special days [tanggal merah] from 3pm till 5pm.

The family member asked a police officer: ‘Why aren’t we able to meet our brother Filep Karma?’  to which the officer replied:  ‘Because Karma and the others have been transferred here from Abepura Prison. According to orders from our superiors, if you want to visit them, you must first report to the head of the criminal investigation branch (Kasat Reskrim, Polda Papua)  because we here are only carrying out orders from our superiors.’  The relative said that he only wanted to give Filep Karma some food and other essential needs and to hear what he himself had to say about why he had been transferred and why they couldn’t meet him.

The police officer then allowed only a very brief meeting to take place, only time enough to hand over the things he needed whereupon the officer asked the relative to leave.

According to information from the family, the five prisoners were given no food at all until 5 December. When Karma asked why they hadn’t received any food,  he was told that it was because ‘all of you have been transferred from Abepura Prison and it is the responsbility of the prison authorities, not the police’.

Five of the convicts had almost no access to food and drink till 5 December and since 5 December, they have been given some food but without anything to drink. Relatives had to bring the prisoners a gallon of Acqua  to be shared between five men.

Since 4 December, Karma who insists that he is not guilty of anything, has been on hunger strike in protest against treatment by the district chief of  Papua and the director of the Abepura Prison.

On 7 December, the family wrote to the director of Abepura Prison, the police chief of Papua and the head of criminal investigations asking to know what legal provision is being used to prevent them from visiting Karma.

The situation now being faced by Filep Karma and Buchtar Tabuni represents a form of non-physical torture by the State, quite apart from the law on treason and incitement which was used to sentence Karma to 15 years and Buchtar Tabuni to three years. They said that convicted prisoners are human beings with the same rights and dignity as people who are not in prison.

The transfer of Filep Karma and Buchtar Tabuni  represents a case of  wrongful treatment by the  State against Papuan political prisoners. They are failing to act in accordance with Article 10 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights which states: ‘All persons who are deprived of their freedom must be treated humanely and with respect for their dignity as human beings.’

It is also clear that state officials are not acting in accordance with Law 8/1981 of the Criminal Procedural Code, bearing in mind that the police officials stated that they were acting in accordance with orders from their superiors and not in accordance with the  law which in the legal basis which should be the basis for their actions.

Filep Karma and Buchtar Tabuni are entitled to receive visits from their families, from legal counsel and from other people in accordance with Article 18,  paragraph 1 of a decree by the minister of law. And furthermore, Filep Karma and Buchtar Tabuni are free to correspond with legal counsel and family members, according to paragraph 4 of the above mentioned ministerial decree.

The families of people who have been convicted for incitement and are now in custody because of the  recent riots in Abepura Prison have asked what is the legal basis being used by the police in Papua towards prisoners who have been transferred to them from Abepura Prison already for four days. who have been told that they cannot receive visits from their families, from legal counsel or from anyone else.

Meanwhile, an online campaign has started in a bid to award Filep Karma the Nobel Peace Prize. So far over 200 people have joined the group on social network Facebook. Click here for more info

Transcript of 2 day torture inflicted by Indonesian military on elderly West Papuan farmer

Engage Media
West Papuan farmer Tunaliwor Kiwo recounts the details of his torture by Indonesian soldiers on May 30 2010. The account of the chronology of the torture was in Lani language, translated into English.

Transcript of Kiwo's Torture Testimony (English) On Sunday, May 30th 2010 I was on my way from Tingginambut to Mulia using motorcycle, arrived at the TNI post Kwanggok Nalime Kampung Yogorini. I, “Anggen Pugu/Tunaliwor Kiwo with Telengga Kiro” was summoned by the TNI personnel at the post and without hesitation we came to that Nalime post, we thought they wanted to give a cigarette or something but turned out we were questioned and interrogated … they asked “Where do you live?” We live in Tingginambut village, the district’s capital … ”Do you have ID card (KTP)?” Yes we do have it and then we showed them.

Without further questions, I, Anggen Pugu Kiwo and Telengga Kiro were handcuffed with rope and dragged to the back of the post by pulling the edge of the rope behind me from the left side of the post to the back side, then instantly we received a huge slapped, from left ear and right was pulled … pushed … slammed on the ground. Then they tied our feet with barbed wire … Then pulled the edge of the rope that has been tied to our hands, dragged from the direction of Nagarak River.

A log has been prepared…then they started to beat me from the neck and bones were crushed … and that log was broken to pieces on my body, then they threw that broken log.

After that they took a plastic bag … then they put my head inside all the way to my legs and tied it, then opened it again … Then they replaced it with a large black plastic bag, put my head to it and pulled my neck, my mouth and nose were sealed till I couldn’t breathe and I tried to open my mouth but I couldn’t because it’s so tight and I almost couldn’t breathe anymore … I couldn’t … couldn’t breathe … then they opened it again.

And then they asked … you have to be honest … you have to be honest … But I don’t know anything, I’m just a regular person … over and over again … but they kept pushing me … you’re lying, you have to tell the truth that you’re OPM right? … we were constantly pushed that we were so confused to talk, we were numb and our voice was trembled, we couldn’t answer properly because we were nervous … eventually they kept torturing me … repeatedly … back and forth beating me from head to toe while my hands and feet were already in tied position … I’ve become powerless …

Then they went inside the post to get pliers to tweeze my toes … pulled them hard until they were severed, I was hysterical until I peed … then they switched to my other foot, I meant from left toes to right toes.

With same method they clipped my penis that it almost snapped … hysterically I cried “it hurts, let go of me” while they’re saying they will cut our genitals … I was still hysterical…tortured me since 9 am. Hands and feet were tied since morning.

Next they pulled the edge of rope that has been tied to my hands, they pulled and slammed from right to left and from left to right, causing many head bumps, legs were exposed to hard objects including the wall, rock etc, ruining my right knee that I’m not able to walk normally again, it’s crippled.

They have tortured me from 9 am to 6 pm and they dragged me to the kitchen located in the back of their post.

They kept my hands and feet tied then they tied each of my foot to a wood on the wall and kept my hands tied from behind and hung from above.

After that there was a soldier came, stepped on with his boots, stepped his foot on my face, pressed my nose and banged my head to the wall … then it bounced … He repeatedly stepped on me causing blood streaming from my nose, mouth, head; my mouth, chest and mustache were covered and because I was tied, I couldn’t wipe the blood so I had to blew it … fu … fu … fu … fu … so it didn’t cover my mouth. I was helpless, what can I do …

Then he rolled a cigarette … pretend to give it to me that I opened my mouth to take a drag … suddenly he pulled it back and stick the fire instead to my nose that it was burnt from the cigarette.

Then they filled up water in the bucket, it’s already midnight and my body was cramped … They poured cold water all over my body … I told them “it’s freezing” but they didn’t want to hear … they washed my body with cold water until I was shivering … cramp and the whole body was numb. I told them “it’s freezing” but they continued anyway.

Because of the tight rope that they tied since 9 am has caused my hands and feet to swell tremendously.

The next torture was to heat up an iron and or a wire then pressed it to my left and right thigh … I kept screaming…but they pressed it to my stomach … I screamed … they pressed it to my left and right chest … I kept screaming … but they didn’t care about my agony … unbelievable that they managed to torture me from 9 am in the morning to the evening, till the next morning … they dragged me outside …

They put me at the yard and then I told them that I’m the younger brother of Yustus Wonda, the provincial secretary, with broken voice I asked them to get him and pick me up … but instead they impersonated my voice and laughed at me …

That morning (day two) they started torturing me again using a block and severely beat me with it from head to toe, back and forth with hands and feet still in handcuffed position.

The other form of torture, they got in the house to get a military knife … then one by one they stepped on my face, mouth, nose … hen from the left side they put the knife on my neck, from the right side they try to point out cutting my neck and at that moment my nose got cut (pointing at his nose) … I thought I’d lose my neck but it still there.

They lay me down then put a wood board on top of my chest, face, stomach … then they axed the board from the left side; it fell and penetrated through the board they laid next to my left and right neck.

The next torture is: hands and feet remained tied but I had to fold my legs, the rope tied from the neck with feet kept tight while my hands were still handcuffed from behind then they stacked firewood available in the yard and stacked the whole thing as high as my body until I almost couldn’t breathe, then next to my right and left leg, they threw fuel to the firewood, I was burnt in the middle … I couldn’t move and the heat from the fire burnt me down since my hands and feet were still tied … I cried hysterically in pain.

They got me out and dragged me from the firewood stack then I stood with head on the ground and my face facing up. Then they put a test on me by axing the left side of my head and at the same time pulled the axe off the ground, which threw the soil covering my eyes and face. The torture was extraordinary and I was completely helpless from it … They did this during dawn around 5-6 am.

Around 8 am they dragged me then shaved my mustache and hair in hideous way, they cut my hair from every angle, using razor blade … it’s so random that it slit my mouth, ears and nose – all over my face was covered in blood because they shaved my mustache, hair until it went bald and bleeding.

The torture switched to the TNI soldier concocting this chili sauce using huge amount of chilies, red onions, garlic, detergent, salt – all mixed with water, then they poured my body from head to toe with that … I screamed because it hurts so much…but they winded up brutally soak me up, they made sure not a single body part they missed out until they finished the whole water.

Then they dragged me and basked me under the heat of sunlight next to the house until I didn’t realize that flies had surrounded my mouth, nose and ears. When the soldiers approached me the flies flew off but they returned and perched on my body until the sun started to disappear into the slope of mount Arimuli or Puncak Senyum. I realized it was later in the afternoon around 4.30 pm.

Then the commander of the post ordered the TNI medical personnel to clean me up. He sympathized for me and loosened the rope both on my hands and feet. My hands and feet were swollen, I couldn’t walk and he helped me to go down the river for bathing then he gave me soap and then I washed my body until it was clean. Because my pants were dirty, he made me wear his pants then helped me cling to him and walked back to the post. As soon as I arrived, he soaked alcohol to all over my painful body, cleaned them and rubbed the wounded parts with Betadine, he also gave injections to my left and right foot, left and right hand, left and right thigh, stitched my sliced nose as a result of the previous torture using yarn. I felt so cold so he helped me put on my clothes and jacket and then he lay me down on bed, I slept through until 6 pm.

After I woke up, I was told to lift my legs and hands to be tied again but it’s very difficult to lift them because they’re swollen and heavy, therefore my legs couldn’t get tied and my hands as well could not get tied from behind because of the tortures, which made my bones damaged, hands were numb so he had to tie me from the front, tried to tie it firmly but I was in pain then they tied it loosely and put me back to sleep.

One day before that, they put me to sleep on the ground so it’s easier to elevate my legs so when I lift one of my legs, I made a deep hole in the ground with my other leg when I tried to pull it.

After I was bathed, then they lay me down on a floor mat layered with the yellow plastic bag that is usually used to evacuate a body from a murder or traffic accident, so I lay on top of it and they put pillow for my head and covered my body with green TNI jacket so I wouldn’t feel cold and could sleep well.

Around 11.30 I accidentally awoke but I kept lying down and over heard my execution plan for the next morning. Time was ticking and they were busy boiling water and made coffee, tea and each of them ate instant noodle. They were rowdy because I was about to be executed; meanwhile I had to hear their conversation

At 3 o’clock they made contact through HT (Handy Talky) where their military unit was on duty at Kalome post, Tingginambut post, Puncak Senyum post, even the one at Mulia town also reported that they have shot one on the scene and the other one was still alive, when I heard that I thought it was Telengga Giro who got shot. Apparently what they meant was to shoot me (Kiwo).

Time pointed at 3 am past something. They said the car would be arrived at 8 am, so we’re going to shoot dead this person at 9 am sharp and brought him into the car. Yes, I am Kiwo and that time I was afraid and anxious.

I opened the rope that bound my hand slowly with my teeth yet I pulled it tightly so that it was looked tight because the end of the rope was tied to the wall and the other end was tied to my hand. Carefully I peeked and stood there but they saw me and I was reprimanded to keep sleeping. But I slowly raised my head until I heard it was 4am.

At 4pm (Papua time) I started to pray. This is what I said to God:

Thanks God if your will is my death in the hands of Indonesian military. Then, on Tuesday May 11th 2010 at 9am, I will be shot dead here so I surrender my life to Your hand.

God, please bring the men who tortured and killed me to the hand who will defend and replace my head and soul so that they will be shot dead as well if they shot me at 9am. Thanks Jesus.

But, if You plan my death in another way such as illness, then I will not die in the hands of TNI this morning, please make them blind and powerless and free me at 4- 6am before 9 this morning. I will escape this place. Thanks Jesus, in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Finally God gave me strength to lift my bed and a drum and throw that to a soldier who was on guard. I stepped on the porch at the station nearby; they thought I was their friend who was watching over me. And when I stepped out, they realized it. They shot with too many bullets yet none of them hit me.

I ran until the fell and rolled around. It happened many times. I tried to stand up and fell again until quite far in the distance. The second time I tried yet I failed. The third time I failed, finally I gave up. But I tried to stand and I could stand. If they chased me, I would definitely die. I was like a one year-old child who learns to stand up and fall again. That was what I experienced. I kept running until I saw the main road. I immediately crawled into the bushes. I opened the white short and held it in hand so that they would not get me. I got into Yamo River at 5, and at 6 I met my family.

My family was afraid to approach and shake my hand since they heard that I was murdered by the TNI soldiers. And there was a myth that a dead family member visits their family so they thought I was a shadow. Then I answered this is Kiwo, I’m still alive.

There were two young men delivered a letter to the TNI post, they told you to go home soon because all this time you were looking for Goliat Tabuni who you have killed. Yet, suddenly Kiwo appeared and still alive, so the plan to deliver the letter to the post by motorcycle was cancelled.

My family slaughtered a pig as a symbol of one family member went home and saved from death. Customary, they slaughtered a pig and checked all parts of my badly beaten body but there were only 2 broken ribs. All my bones from head to toe turned red. They cleaned it up and cooked and treated with the medicine sent from Mulia. Now I have recovered.

Until today, I have hesitation about my health. I worry that the disease will relapse. Since I am a civilian, an ordinary man, basically never steal others’ stuff, angry at others and hurt someone’s heart, therefore God helped me and I survived.

That’s the chronology of the torture I experienced and I thank you. My name is Anggen Pugu Kiwo. So that was the traces of wound that I experienced.

Click below to watch full torture footage

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL: End criminalization of peaceful political activities in Maluku

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
Public statement

AI Index: ASA 21/017/2010
19 August 2010

INDONESIA: End criminalization of peaceful political activities in Maluku

The decision to charge at least 22 political activists in Maluku for “rebellion” once again highlights the failure of the Indonesian government to distinguish between armed groups and peaceful political activists. Amnesty International urges the Indonesian government to release immediately and unconditionally the activists, who are all men, if they have been arrested solely for their peaceful political activities.

On 13 August 2010 the Maluku police announced that they were planning to charge the political activists with “rebellion” against the state (makar) under Articles 106 and 110 of Indonesia’s Criminal Code (KUHP, Kitab Undang-Undang Hukum Pidana). The police pointed to evidence which included possession of dozens of “Benang Raja” flags, a symbol of the South Maluku independence; Republic of South Maluku (RMS) membership cards; and photos and stickers of the independence flag.

According to local sources, the activists were planning to use the visit of Indonesia’s President, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, to Maluku in early August as an opportunity to disseminate materials related to alleged human rights violations there, including posters calling for the release of political prisoners in Maluku arrested for their peaceful political activism.

Amnesty International is also concerned about their safety in custody, as detained political activists are known to have been tortured and ill-treated in Maluku. The authorities must ensure that the men are allowed access to legal counsel of their choosing, their families and any medical treatment that they may require.

Background

The Republic of South Maluku (RMS), an armed pro-independence movement, officially ended in Maluku with the execution of its leader by the Indonesian authorities in 1966. However, some villagers continue to raise the “Benang Raja” flag there as a peaceful political act of protest against the central government.

Amnesty International has documented dozens of arrests in past years of political activists who have peacefully called for independence, particularly in areas where there has been a history of pro-independence movements such as Maluku and Papua.

Amnesty International takes no position whatsoever on the political status of any province of Indonesia, including calls for independence. However the organization believes that the right to freedom of expression includes the right to peacefully advocate referendums, independence or other political solutions.

The rights to free expression, opinion and peaceful assembly are guaranteed under the Indonesian Constitution and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which Indonesia is a state party. While the Indonesian government has the duty and the right to protect life and to maintain public order within its jurisdiction, it must ensure that any restrictions to freedoms of expression and peaceful assembly are no more than is permitted under international human rights law.

In June 2007, 22 political activists in Maluku province were arrested for unfurling the “Benang Raja” flag while performing a traditional “Cakalele” dance in front of the President. After their performance, the police, particularly the anti-terrorist unit Detachment-88, detained all 22 of the dancers. They were tortured or otherwise ill-treated, charged with “rebellion” under Articles 106 and 110 of the Indonesia Criminal Code and are serving sentences of between seven and 20 years’ imprisonment. Amnesty International considers them to be prisoners of conscience. A twenty-third dancer, also a prisoner of conscience, was arrested in June 2008 and sentenced to four years’ imprisonment in March 2009.

ENDS/

Public Document
****************************************
For more information please contact Amnesty International’s press office in London, UK, on +44 20 7413 5566 or press@amnesty.org

Amnesty International, 1 Easton St., London WC1X 0DW, http://www.amnesty.org
For latest human rights news view http://news.amnesty.org

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