Tag: torture

Paniai sweeps intensify misery under Indonesian control as security forces ban music and torture priest

by West Papua Media

March 6, 2013

Local residents in Paniai regency are bracing for more repression in sweep operations by Indonesian security forces after two separate incidents across the Paniai have intensified ongoing crackdowns on West Papuan independence sentiment, torturing a  local priest and even banning the possession of traditional music.

The latest crackdown, imposed in Paniai after guerrillas from Paniai commander Jhon Yogi’s Paniai unit of the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPN-PB) were involved in armed engagements with the Indonesian army (TNI) and Police throughout February .

Reliable human rights sources in Paniai have reported to West Papua Media that an influx of joint TNI and police have “arrived with total war equipment” to bolster sweeps and raids across Paniai against civilians accused of holding pro-independence sentiments.

“In order to confront the TPN PB and on orders from President SBY, a brigade of TNI / Police have arrived with total war equipment. There were drops of TNI/POLRI in Paniai on 3 March 2013. The brigade arrived by 7 ‘Inova’ vehicles via the coast road,” the source told West Papua Media.

Helicopters belonging to illegal gold miners in Degouwo were again being used by Indonesian troops to support the operation, similar to the massive offensive against Paniai people during 2011 and early 2012, according to both human rights and church sources.

“A yellow and white helicopter owned by an illegal business in Degouwo at 13.00 WPB (west Papua time) made two drops of personnel and logistical war equipment. The first drop was to the Enarotali airport in Paniai district, and the second helicopter drop of the brigade forces together with war equipment was at Obano also, in the west of Paniai district,” the human rights source told West Papua Media.

Independent sources are also reporting that Indonesian colonial occupation forces are putting massive pressure on local civilians, with routine violations of civilian’s dignity, and arbitrary strip searches, that have created opportunities for brutality and torture on local people.

The notorious battalion 753 from Nabire has erected scores of “state of emergency tents” every 5-10 kilometres along the main road between Nabire and Paniai, according to witnesses. “TNI are carrying out very strict checking of everything. The TNI from unit 753 are undoing the clothes of every passenger in the area to check them including females. Advocacy and monitoring is requested,” said the human rights worker.

Military Destruction of traditional culture amounting to cultural genocide
Papuan independent media outlet Tabloid Jubi  has reported remarkable accounts of the extraordinary measures Indonesian police commandos from Paniai police headquarters are taking to destroy traditional Papuan culture by banning music.

Father Saul Wanimbo, the Director of the Commission for Justice and Peace (SKP) in Timika diocese, told Tabloid Jubi that during police sweeps, local people are being forced to hand over their mobile phones.  They analyse the memory cards on the mobile phones to find songs in Papuan language, and if the memory card is found to contain either one or many Papuan folk songs, police will smash the memory card with stones, according to Fr Wanimbo.

“The police are sweeping HP (Handphone) memory cards of Enaro society (people) for the last two months,” Wanimbo told Jubi, citing his own experiences and stories directly from Enaro residents from 1-20 Febrruary 2013.  Wanimbo said that Paniai people have been so demoralised that they just accept the oppressive actions of the occupation forces.

Wanimbo said that the actions by Police were killing three values:  “There is destruction of cultural values, murder of the people’s creativity, and character assassination.”

“The situation is conditioned in such a way so that people cannot resist. How can the people fight if the area has a variety of (security force) members lurking there,” Fr Wanimbo told Jubi.  The police acts were morally and legally wrong, police could not arbitrarily violate people’s privacy for no apparent reason, and such actions must be done with a warrant, he said.

“Paniai Police must explain the meaning of this sweeps. Or the Papua Police chief must stop the actions of the Kapolresnya (local police command) men in Enaro. This is serious. We can say it’s the beginning of the genocide, ” he said.

Priest tortured by police who then demand bribe for his release

Meanwhile, again in the Paniai regional centre of Enarotoli, local human rights workers have documented a serious case of torture of a local priest.  According to human rights workers attached to the Kingmi church, at 8.30 in the morning on March 2, Reverend Yunus Gobai (55 years) was arrested, threatened and tortured by local and Brimob commando police at the Enarotali (Kapolresnya) police compound in Paniai district.

According to the report received and confirmed by West Papua Media, as a result of beating Gobai’s nose was bleeding, his upper and lower lips were split and  bleeding, and he sustained abrasions on his hands, swelling on his forehead and cuts on his head, after which he he was put in a cell at the Police Sector command (Polsek) in Enarotali.

Family members went to request his release from the Police station, but the Paniai police demanded a bribe or ransom money to free him, according to the report.  Family members reported they were forced to gather money in order to pay the police, and a Paniai member of the DPRD directly handed over to police one million rupiah (about US$103) at Polsek Paniai.  Reverend Gobai was then released at 1030am local time, and taken straight home to his village by his family, according to the report.

Rev Gobai is the former pastor and head of the council of the community of KINGMI Maranatha Nabire. According to his family, after Rev Gobai became pastor of the community he suffered from (an undefined) mental disturbance together with epilepsy.  Gobai’s family reported that he would regularly be seen “shouting for no reason or running around shouting”.

Reverend Gobai was arrested after exhibiting these symptoms outside the police station in Enarotoli, causing his arrest, but police did not treat the issue as an illness and used unwarranted torture and inhumane treatment on the pastor, according to the report.

(WPM Editor’s Comment: Whilst the KINGMI report uses unclear terminology describing the pastor’s behaviour as “mental illness”, often random outbursts of unintelligible shouting and psychotic visions are perfectly normal and accepted behaviour of Christian pentecostal pastors, Muslim imans, Hindu holy people, and almost all other religious leaders and clerics across human history.  To arrest and torture someone for this behaviour is to ignore the experience of humanity.)

Paniai is no stranger to unrestrained Indonesian security force violence and torture against local people, primarily made up of members of the Mee tribe.  Previous offensives in the  Paniai since December 2011 have displaced tens of thousands of civilians, and burnt down hundreds of villages.  Paniai was the scene of widespread military operations between 1963-1969, 1977-1978, and again in 1981-1982. During this period U.S. supplied Bronco aircraft were used to bomb villages while helicopters strafed Papuans with machine gun fire.

West Papua Media

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Paniai: TWO OPM members to face charges: Others are being hunted by police

Bintang Papua
27 February 2013Jayapura: Following the arrest earlier this week of two members of the OPM (Organisasi Papua Merdeka), a spokesperson for the police has stated that the two men, identified by the initials, AG and PG who were arrested in Kampung Ayaigo, sub-district of Kebo, District of Paniai will face charges in court.

The police officer stated that the men  were in possession of explosive materials and ammunition in violation of Emergency Law  12/1951 which allows a sentence, if convicted, of twenty years or life imprisonment.

The spokesperson, I Gede Sumerta Jaya, head  of public relations of the Paniai chief of police, also said that the police were engaged in operations to find other persons on the ‘wanted list’ (DPO) for a series of actions such as shootings and other acts of violence that have been occurring in the area. These other persons were identified by the initials JY, SY and DY.

The men are alleged to have been involved in shootings in Paniai,including the shooting of an ojek driver and holding nine employees of a contractor company as hostages  who were building a school in Kampung Ukawo, District of Siriwo, Paniai. The men were also alleged to have assaulted women and demanded material goods from local people a short while ago.

”We do not know what the motives for the shootings and violence are because we are still interrogating the men,’ the spokesperson said.

Asked about the security situation following the arrest of the two OPM members, the spokesperson described it as ‘conducive’, following  an armed skirmish between the TNI/Polri and the OPM.

The two men are currently undergoing intensive questioning at police command headquarters in Paniai. The two men were caught during sweeping operations by the TNI/Polri after having engaged in an act of terror against the command post of the Paniai Police.

They were said to have in their possession one unit of HT (?), one bullet calibre 7.56 , a hand-phone, personal identifications tabs and Morning Star flags.

End of Translation

 

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AHRC: Guards torture 20 prisoners at the Abepura Correctional Facility, Papua

(Please Note: West Papua Media will as a matter of policy republish Urgent Appeals from AHRC and other renowned human rights networks such as Tapol, Amnesty, and Human Rights Watch, as these appeals continue to meet our standards of news verification.  Whilst the structure of these letters technically fall under advocacy and not journalism as such, it is still a matter of great public interest that they are published, and we can attest to their factuality as we have independently verified claims therein)
ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION – URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Urgent Appeal Case: AHRC-UAC-025-2013
22 February 2013
———————————————————————
INDONESIA: Guards torture 20 prisoners at the Abepura Correctional Facility, Papua

ISSUES: Inhuman and degrading treatment; torture
———————————————————————

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding the torture of twenty prisoners at the Abepura Correctional Facility, Papua, on 21 January 2013. Information gathered by local activists reveals that the torture was conducted by three prison guards with the acquiescence of the head of the prison. The victims were beaten with bare hands as well as whipped with thick wire until some parts of their bodies were bleeding. Despite the injuries suffered the prison guards did not give any medical treatment to the tortured prisoners.

CASE NARRATIVE:

According to local activists from KontraS Papua, Bersatu untuk Kebenaran (BUK), and SKPKC Fransiskan Papua, three new prisoners were admitted to the Abepura Class II.A Correctional Facility at around 6pm on 21 January 2013. The other prisoners made spontaneous comments to welcome the new prisoners such as “welcome to the prodeo hotel” and “welcome to isolation”. Not long afterwards, two prison guards named Bonifasius Manuputy and Yulianan Wanane ordered the inmates’ coordinator (tahanan pendamping, tamping) to unlock cell number 5 and asked all the five prisoners staying there to exit the cells. The prisoners were ordered to walk in a crouch position to the guards’ office which is about 100-150 meters away from the cell.

Bonifasius Manuputy started beating the prisoners once they reached the guards’ office. At this stage, another prison guard called Eli Asip Wamuar also joined Bonifasius in torturing the prisoners by whipping them with a thick white wire. The diameter of the wire was about 10 inches and its length was around 2 meters. As the prisoners from cell five were being beaten, the other prisoners staying in other cells made noises, asking Bonifasius not to torture the prisoners from cell number 5. It was alleged that the beating took place because the guards got annoyed with the prisoners’ welcoming remarks addressed to the new enrolled prisoners.

At around 6.30pm on the same day, Eli Asip Wamuar ordered the inmates’ coordinator to unlock cell number 2 and 3. There were seven prisoners inside cell number 2 and eight prisoners inside cell number 3. All prisoners staying in both cells were asked to walk to the guards’ office in a crouch position as well. As their fellows from cell number 5, those prisoners were also whipped by Eli Asip Wamuar in their body using the thick white wire. As a result, the prisoners suffered wounds and injuries to different parts of their body including arms, back, and shoulder. Some parts of their body were also bleeding and bruised. One of the prisoners, Pelius Tabuni, had his left arm broken, allegedly caused by the severe beating with the thick wire. The head of the Abepura Correctional Facility, Nuridin, as well as the Head of the Correctional Facility’s Security Unit, Juwaini, were present as the torture was taking place.

After the beating the prison guards simply put the prisoners back in their cells without giving them any medical treatment which could have been made available at the prison’s clinic despite the injury they suffered.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

This is not the first time that a report on the allegation of torture at the Abepura Correctional Facility has been received by the AHRC. Previously in June 2012, the AHRC released an urgent appeal concerning the torture of 42 prisoners and detainees at the same correctional facility. The AHRC was informed that after heavy criticism directed by human rights activists at that time, the then Head Correctional Facility Liberti Sitinjak was replaced by Nuridin in 2012. However, no criminal investigation was conducted on this matter that those responsible for such abuse remain unpunished.

In a greater picture, torture is no longer a new issue in Papua in general. In 2010, a video revealing military officers torturing a Papuan man was released but the perpetrators were sentenced only to 9-12 months imprisonment. The AHRC has also recently published an urgent appeal concerning the torture of seven Papuans by Indonesian police in Jayapura on false allegations for having a relationship with pro-independence activists.

SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write to the authorities listed below asking for their intervention in this matter. The torture allegation should be impartially and effectively investigated that those responsible for it will be punished proportionately. Please also urge the authorities to provide compensation and medical treatment needed for the loss and injury suffered by the victims.

The AHRC is writing separately to the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.

To support this appeal, please click here:

SAMPLE LETTER:

Dear ___________,

INDONESIA: Prison guards tortured 20 prisoners at Abepura Correctional Facility, Papua

Name of victims:
1. Pelius Tabuni, 32 year old, left arm got broken and suffer wounds in his shoulder and back;
2. Gidion Hanuebi (Bob), 37 year old, suffers wounds in his back;
3. Serko Itlai, 19 year old, suffers wounds in his back;
4. Yoris Fernando W. Rengil, 17 year old, suffers wounds in his back;
5. Ami Wenda (Soy), 25 year old, suffers wounds in his back and arms;
6. Roy Olvin Wally, 31 year old, suffers wounds in his back and left arm;
7. Ormi Wandik, 17 year old, suffers wounds in his back and arms;
8. Roy Kabarek, 37 year old, suffers bruises in his forehead and jaws as well as wounds in his back;
9. Irsan Mananggel (Irs), 19 year old, suffers wounds in his back and arms that he could not move his arms for a couple of days;
10. Yosua Merahabia, 41 year old, suffers wounds in his back and left arm;
11. Samuel Waren, 26 year old, suffers wounds in his back and arms;
12. Yakobus Bue, 20 year old, suffers wounds in his back and arms;
13. Hendro Wambrau, 21 year old, suffers wounds in his back, left arm and left elbow;
14. Ibe Huby, 22 year old, suffers wounds in his back as well as bruises in left ear;
15. Kaharudin, 28 year old, suffers wounds in his back and right arm;
16. Kaleb Mantanaway, 21 year old, suffers wounds in his back and arms;
17. Imanuel Mauri, 21 year old, suffers bruises in his back of head and ears;
18. Zikenele Hisage, 20 year old, suffers wounds in his back and right arm;
19. Widodo Santoso, 26 year old, suffers bruises in his forehead;
20. Ahmad Alia, age unidentified, suffers wounds in his back.
Names of alleged perpetrators:
1. Eli Asip Wamuar, prison guard
2. Bonifasius Manuputy, prison guard
3. Yulianan Wanane, prison guard
4. Juwaini, Head of Abepura Correctional Facility’s Security Unit
5. Nuridin, Head of Abepura Correctional Facility
Date of incident: 21 January 2013
Place of incident: Abepura, Papua

I am writing to express my deep concern regarding the torture of prisoners which took place in the Abepura Class II, a Correctional Facility. I received the information that 20 prisoners were tortured by three prison guards with the acquiescence of the Head of the Correctional Facility as well as the Head of the Correctional Facility’s Security Unit on 21 January 2013.

I have been informed that on the day in question at around 6pm, three new prisoners were admitted to the correctional facility. Responding to it, the other prisoners were making spontaneous welcoming remarks such as “welcome to isolation” as well as “welcome to the prodeo hotel”. Not long afterwards, two prison guards named Bonifasius Manuputy and Yulianan Wanane asked the inmates’ coordinator (tahanan pendamping, tamping) to unlock cell number 5 and ordered the prisoners staying there to walk to the guards’ office in a crouch position. Once they reached the office, the prisoners were beaten by Bonifasius and whipped with a thick white wire by another prison guard named Eli Asip Wanuar. The white wire was about 2 meters long. During the beatings and whippings, the other prisoners made noises asking the prison guards to stop torturing their fellow inmates.

Eli Asip Wanuar later ordered the inmates’ coordinator to unlock cell number 2 and 3 and also asked the prisoners staying there to walk in a crouch position to the guards’ office. Similarly, the prisoners from these two cells were beaten and whipped by the prison guards. Nuridin, the Head of Abepura Correctional Facility, as well as Juwaini, the Head of the Correctional Facility’s Security Unit were present during the torture and did not do anything to stop it from happening.

I was told that due to the beatings and whippings, the twenty prisoners suffer wounds and injuries to several parts of their body. It was reported that one of them, Pelias Tabuni, had his left arm broken. Even though the prisoners were injured and bleeding, the prison authorities did not provide them with any medical treatment afterwards and just put them back in their cells.

I am concerned that torture is still practiced in your country, despite the fact that Indonesia is a state party to the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and the right not to be tortured is guaranteed under the 1945 Constitution. I am particularly disturbed knowing that this is not the first time I received the report that torture is taking place in Abepura Class II.A Correctional Facility. I am aware it was previously reported that 42 prisoners and detainees were tortured at the same correctional facility in April last year and that the perpetrators are still unpunished as of today. It saddens me that the Indonesian government and law enforcement officials do not take torture as a serious matter that deserves serious concern and efforts. Those who are responsible for such abuse are hardly taken before the court. Even for cases that managed to reach the court, the perpetrators have always been punished with light sentence that does not reflect the gravity of the abuse.

I therefore urge you and your institution to prove your commitment in combating torture and enforcing law and human rights in your country. The torture allegation in this case should be impartially and effectively investigated that those responsible for it are punished proportionately according to law. I also wish to emphasise that, under international human rights law, not providing detainees or prisoners with adequate medical treatment may also constitute torture that you are also obliged to give any health assistance needed by the victims in this case. Compensation should also be adequately granted to them.

I look forward for your positive and prompt response in this matter.

Yours sincerely,

—————-
PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:

1. Mr. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
President of Republic of Indonesia
Jl. Veteran No. 16
Jakarta Pusat
INDONESIA
Tel: +62 21 386 3777, 350 3088.
Fax: + 62 21 344 2223, 3483 4759
E-mail: presiden@ri.go.id

2. Ms. Harkristuti Harkrisnowo
General Director of Human Rights
Ministry of Law and Human Rights
Jl. HR Rasuna Said Kav. 6-7
Kuningan, Jakarta 12940
INDONESIA
Tel: +62 21 525 3006, 525 3889
Fax: +62 21 525 3095

3. Mr. Mochamad Sueb
General Director of Corrections
Ministry of Law and Human Rights
Jl. Veteran No. 11
Jakarta Pusat
INDONESIA
Tel: +62 21 385 7611
Fax: +62 21 345 2155, 231 2140

4. Gen. Timur Pradopo
Chief of the Indonesian National Police
Jl. Trunojoyo No. 3
Kebayoran Baru, Jakarta Selatan 12110
INDONESIA
Tel: +62 21 384 8537, 726 0306
Fax: +62 21 7220 669
E-mail: info@polri.go.id

5. Ir. Gen. Drs. Tito Karnavian
Chief of Papua Regional Police
Jl. Dr. Sam Ratulangi No. 8
Jayapura
INDONESIA
Tel: +62967 531 014, 533 396
Fax: +62967 533 763

6. Mr. Otto Nur Abdullah
Chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission
Jalan Latuharhary No.4-B,
Jakarta 10310
INDONESIA
Tel: +62 21 392 5227-30
Fax: +62 21 392 5227
Email: info@komnas.go.id

Thank you.

Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ua@ahrc.asia)

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Amnesty: Two men detained, feared tortured in Papua

UA: 48/13 Index: ASA 21/005/2013 Indonesia

22 February 2013

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL URGENT ACTION
Two Indonesian men now arbitrarily detained in Jayapura, Papua province, are believed to have been tortured or otherwise ill-treated by police.

Daniel Gobay and Matan Klembiap are currently detained at the Jayapura district police station in Papua province. Police officers allegedly tortured or other otherwise ill-treated them and five other men while interrogating them about the whereabouts of two pro-independence activists. They have not received medical treatment and they have not had access to a lawyer since their arrest.

According to credible sources, plainclothes police officers arbitrarily arrested Daniel Gobay and two other men on the morning of 15 February 2013 in Depapre, Papua province. The three men were first forced to crawl on their stomachs to the Depapre sub-district police station approximately 30 metres away and then moved to the Jayapura district police station an hour later. There they were then forced to
strip, were kicked in the face, head and back, and beaten with rattan sticks. Police officers allegedly pressed the barrels of their guns to their heads, mouth and ears. They were interrogated until late at night and in the morning of the following day.

Matan Klembiap and three other men were arbitrarily arrested separately by plainclothes police officers on the morning of 15 February in Depapre and taken to the Jayapura district police station.

The four men were also forced to strip and were kicked and beaten with rattan sticks and wooden blocks by police officers. One of the men has testified on video that police gave him electric shocks.

On 16 February, five of the men were released without charge but Daniel Gobay and Matan Klembiap remain in police custody and are reportedly to be charged with “possession of a sharp weapon” under the Emergency Regulation 12/1951.

Amnesty International has asked that readers “Please write immediately in English, Indonesian or your own language calling on authorities in Indonesia” to take the following urgent action:

  • To ensure that Daniel Gobay and Matan Klembiap are not tortured or otherwise ill-treated;
  • To ensure that the two men have access to medical treatment, and to lawyers of their choosing; and
  • To immediately order an effective and independent investigation into the allegations of torture and other ill-treatment of the seven men by police officers. Suspected criminal offences involving human rights violations must be dealt with through the criminal justice system, rather than only internally and as disciplinary breaches to ensure that all those responsible for torture and other ill-treatment, including persons with chain of command responsibility, are brought to justice in fair trials, and that victims are provided reparations. Particular attention must be paid to the protection of victims, witnesses and their families.

Amnesty International

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Seven Papuans are arrested and tortured on false allegations of having a relationship with pro-independence activists

By Asian Human Rights Commission

Urgent Action report

19 February 2013

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding the arbitrary arrest and torture of seven Papuans which took place on 15 February 2013. The victims were driving home in two cars when the police stopped them as they were looking for two pro-independence activists. The victims were later brought to the police station where they were further questioned on the whereabouts of the activists. They were severely beaten, kicked and electrocuted before being five of them were released without charge the next day. However, as at the time of writing two of the victims remain in police custody.

CASE NARRATIVE:

According to interviews and fact gathering conducted by local activists, including Yasons Sambom, on 15 February 2013 at 9am, a silver painted car stopped Daniel Gobay, Arsel Kobak and Eneko Pahabol who were driving on their way home from Depapre to Doprena. Five police officers, one of whom was identified as Iptu Beduh Rahman, got out of the silver-painted car and pointed their weapons at Daniel, Arsel and Eneko. The police then ordered the three men to crawl on their stomachs to Depapre Sub-District Police Station which is approximately 30 metres away from the place where they were stopped. (Picture 1: Eneko Pahabol, source: local activist).

An hour after they arrived at Depapre Sub-District Police Station, Daniel, Arsel and Eneko were taken to Jayapura District Police Station. The police started questioning three of them on the whereabouts of Terianus Satto and Sebby Sambom, two pro-independence activists whom Daniel, Arsel and Eneko do not have any relationship with. Eneko Pahabol told the local activists that he was repeatedly kicked in his face by officers who were wearing police boots. The officers kicked him both in his left and right knees which caused them to bleed. Eneko and his friends were also beaten with a rattan stick as well as being electrocuted on their legs. The police officers pressed the barrels of their guns to their heads, forced them into their mouths and ears. Arsel Kobak told the AHRC that he was asked to take his clothes off and kicked on his head, face and back by the police officers. As a result, his mouth and nose were bleeding, his forehead was wounded and he is now experiencing hearing difficulties.

On the same day at around 10am, the police separately stopped another car which was carrying Yosafat Satto, Salim Yaru, Matan Klembiap and Obed Bahabol. As with Daniel, Arsel and Eneko, they were also stopped by police officers in a silver-painted car in Depapre on their way home. The police officers were wearing civilian clothes and carrying Pindad SS-1 assault rifles which they pointed at Yosafat and his friends. They firstly took Yosafat, Salim, Matan and Obed to Depapre Police Station but later moved them to Jayapura District Police Station. As they arrived at Jayapura District Police Station, Yosafat and his friends were ordered to take their clothes off before the police officers started beating and electrocuting them. The officers also pressed their guns to the heads of Yosafat, Salim, Matan and Obed and asked whether they know anything about the whereabouts of Terianus Satto and Sebby Sambom. None of them know Terianus and Sebby Sambom so Yosafat as well as his three other friends told the police that they do not know anything, an answer that made the officers tortured them even more severely. The officers kicked, beat them with rattan sticks on their backs until they were bleeding, as well as electrocuted them in the face. (Picture 2: Yosafat Satto, source: local activist)

Obed Bahabol told the local activists that they later were interrogated separately and he was the first person to be questioned by a police officer. The police officer jammed the barrel of his gun to his mouth so forcefully that his tooth was broken. The officer also repeatedly beat Obed on his forehead that it was bleeding because Obed told the police that he had no idea on the whereabouts of Sebby Sambom. (Picture 3: Obed Bahabol, source: local activist).

On the next day on 16 February 2013, five of the seven arrested persons were released without charge. As the time of writing, Daniel Gobay and Matan Klembiap are still detained in the police custody, allegedly for possessing bladed articles. However, the charge and their reason of detention are still subject to clarification. Neither Daniel nor Matan has any legal representation as of the time of writing.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

In his report in 2008, the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment highlighted that torture is practised widely across Indonesia, including Papua. In 2010, for instance, the AHRC released a video online which depicts military officers brutally torturing an indigenous Papua. Last year, the AHRC also issued an urgent appeal on the torture of 42 prisoners and detainees by prison authorities at Abepura Correctional Facility.

Despite the abuse took place, little have been done by the Indonesian authorities to make sure the perpetrators are punished proportionately to provide justice for the victims. Military officers who were responsible torturing a Papuan on the video in 2010 were sentenced only to 9-12 months imprisonment while the allegation on torture at Abepura Correctional Facility has never been investigated by the police.

Indonesia has been a state party to the UN Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment since 1998. Torture is not yet a crime under the country’s legal system that state officials who conducted such abuse are usually unpunished or charged with provisions on assault under the Penal Code whose punishment do not reflect the gravity of the act. For example, the Muaro Sijunjung District Court recently sentenced four police officers responsible for the torture and death of two minors only to 18 months to three years imprisonment.

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