Police deny raiding NGO's headquarters<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Police insisted yesterday that none of their
\npersonnel were involved in Saturday's raid on the headquarters of
\na women's organization in Cipinang Cempedak, East Jakarta.<\/p>\n
\"We have nothing to do with the raid and have no idea about
\nit,\" East Jakarta Police Chief Lt. Col. Gories Mere told The
\nJakarta Post here yesterday.<\/p>\n
Around 20 people claiming to be police officers raided the
\nheadquarters of Solidaritas Perempuan (Women's Solidarity for
\nHuman Rights), at 4:30 a.m. Saturday morning.<\/p>\n
In a complaint filed with the City Police, the organization,
\nwhich focuses on migrant workers' rights, said that the
\nplainclothes officers were \"searching for people involved in the
\nJuly 27 incident.\"<\/p>\n
The men seized documents from the office and took three of the
\norganization's employees who were sleeping in the office \"to an
\nunknown location\", said Tati Krisnawaty, the executive
\nchairperson of the organization.<\/p>\n
Reliable sources said that the men were intelligence officers,
\nnot from the police force, who were assigned to \"round up\" any
\nperson or members of alleged left-wing NGOs believed to have
\nplayed a part in the July 27 riot. Many people were reported
\nmissing, and dozens of buildings and cars were burned in the
\nbloody riot.<\/p>\n
Police were reluctant to comment or take stiff action against
\nthese officers even though they knew about the raid, said the
\nsources.<\/p>\n
\"By law, it's only the police who are allowed to question and
\narrest civilians,\" said one of the sources, who refused to be
\nnamed.<\/p>\n
Tati said that if the men were not from the City Police, the
\norganization hoped that the police would promptly investigate the
\nmatter.<\/p>\n
Moreover, she added, the \"policemen\" showed no arrest or
\nsearch warrants.<\/p>\n
In its complaint filed on Monday, the organization said that
\nthe men who claimed to be City Police officers, broke into the
\noffice without legal documents.<\/p>\n
\"These methods clearly violate the Criminal Code (in which
\nwarrants are compulsory) and the presumption of innocence..\", the
\ncomplaint read.<\/p>\n
The organization demanded that the City Police -- \"if the men
\nwere really from the City Police\" -- immediately return all the
\nitems, including those urgently needed for advocacy work for
\nmigrant workers.<\/p>\n
The office items seized \"have no relation to the July 27
\nincident,\" Tati said. (team)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/police-deny-raiding-ngos-headquarters-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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