Detained activist protests investigators' approach<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): A detained activist of the Democratic People's
\nParty (PRD), Petrus Hariyanto, is protesting over what he calls
\nthe \"unprofessional\" investigation into his actions.<\/p>\n
Petrus, together with eight other PRD activists has been
\ndetained at the Attorney General's Office on charges of inciting
\nthe July 27 riot in Jakarta.<\/p>\n
\"In his letter of protest, Petrus essentially says that the
\nAttorney General's Office has been unprofessional in handling his
\ncase,\" Petrus' lawyer, Irwan Irawan, told The Jakarta Post over
\nthe weekend.<\/p>\n
The letter of protest dated Oct. 11 was addressed to the
\nattorney general and copies sent to the National Commission on
\nHuman Rights and the mass media.<\/p>\n
The July 27 riots followed the forcible takeover of the
\nheadquarters of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI), which was
\ncontrolled by followers of deposed chairwoman Megawati
\nSoekarnoputri, by the supporters of a government-backed PDI
\nfaction.<\/p>\n
The National Commission on Human Rights, which conducted an
\nindependent investigation into the incident, has reported that
\nthe riots left five people dead and 23 people missing.<\/p>\n
The commission also found that one of the people who died had
\nbeen shot. The military has persistently said that not even a
\nsingle bullet was fired.<\/p>\n
Last month, the team of lawyers complained to the National
\nCommission on Human Rights that the Attorney General's Office had
\nviolated several of the suspects' rights.<\/p>\n
One of the concerns raised was that the suspects were detained
\nfor a week, from Aug. 11 to Aug. 17, at the Armed Forces'
\nIntelligence Agency for unspecified reasons.<\/p>\n
\"It was during that period that the suspects were forcibly
\ninvestigated without any transcripts being made, nor was there
\nany lawyer present to accompany the suspects during questioning,\"
\nIrwan said.<\/p>\n
Petrus' Oct. 11 protest was motivated by an incident the day
\nbefore, which occurred while he was being questioned by a
\nprosecutor from the General Attorney's office. Petrus was upset
\nthat a military intelligence officer was allowed to walk in
\nunannounced during the questioning.<\/p>\n
\"Besides protesting the way the Attorney General's Office
\ninvestigators questioned him, Petrus also complained of the
\npresence of the military intelligence officer, who told him that
\nhis futile democracy movement would go nowhere,\" Irwan said.<\/p>\n
\"Petrus then refused to proceed with the investigation, saying
\nthat his concentration had been distracted by the presence of the
\nintelligence officer,\" Irwan said.<\/p>\n
According to Irwan, Petrus threatened to go on a hunger strike
\nif he is questioned in the presence of the military intelligence
\nofficer.<\/p>\n
Dwiyanto Prihartono, another lawyer defending the PRD
\nactivists told the Post that the investigations and the dossiers
\non the suspects are expected to be completed by November. (14)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/detained-activist-protests-investigators-approach-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}