`Police losing dignity and getting less respect'<\/p>\n
Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The police are losing their authority and many people do not
\nrespect them -- as was evident in the escape of Islam Defenders
\nFront (FPI) chairman Habib Rizieq Shihab, as well as in the
\nattack on Tempo magazine's office and its journalists, a lawyer
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Hendardi, coordinator of the Indonesian Legal Aid and Human
\nRights Foundation (PBHI), made the statement during an interview
\nwith The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Police received a slap in the face when FPI supporters
\nsnatched their chief, who was arrested for alleged vandalism,
\nfrom underneath the noses of armed policemen in front of the
\nprosecutor's office on Monday.<\/p>\n
The case was similar to last month's attack on Tempo's office
\nand its journalists by supporters of businessman Tomy Winata,
\nwhich happened in the presence of police officers.<\/p>\n
The police shifted the blame for Rizieq's escape by pointing
\ntheir fingers at prosecutors, who had just received the case file
\nfrom police earlier in the day. However, this only raised further
\ncriticism regarding the police force's authority.<\/p>\n
\"By not exercising its duty and authority, the police force is
\nlosing its dignity,\" Hendardi said.<\/p>\n
The police were under fire for both Rizieq's escape and the
\nattack on Tempo, because they were present during both incidents,
\nbut did nothing to prevent them.<\/p>\n
Hendardi suspected that the police often took political
\ninterests into account when exercising their authority.<\/p>\n
\"Now, it has backfired, since the FPI members and thugs no
\nlonger respect the police,\" he said.<\/p>\n
In Rizieq's case, he said, the police could not blame anyone
\nbut themselves, because the law had entrusted them with the power
\nto anticipate any eventualities during the transferal of a
\nsuspect. Police should have had a contingency plan, especially
\ngiven the large number of FPI supporters present.<\/p>\n
Head of Jakarta Prosecutor's Office Muljohardjo deplored the
\npolice's stance on the incident, saying that there should be a
\ncontinued cooperation between investigators and prosecutors in
\narranging security for the case.<\/p>\n
On Monday, hundreds of FPI supporters \"rescued\" Rizieq from
\npolice as he was being transferred to the Jakarta Prosecutor's
\nOffice on Jl. HR Rasuna Said in South Jakarta. He was then taken
\naway on a city bus, which had been hijacked as it was passing the
\noffice.<\/p>\n
Later on the same day, the supporters returned Rizieq to
\nprosecutors, and wrote a letter to the Attorney General on the
\nnext day to apologize for the \"kidnapping\".<\/p>\n
City police spokesman Sr. Comr. Prasetyo said they would
\ninvestigate the incident.<\/p>\n
The incident occurred hours after the Muslim cleric was
\narrested by city police on Sunday evening at Soekarno-Hatta
\nAirport, as he was returning from Jordan on a humanitarian
\nmission -- as he claimed.<\/p>\n
Rizieq was declared a fugitive after he ignored two summonses
\nto report to police after his case file had been completed<\/p>\n
He is charged with encouraging FPI members to vandalize a
\nnumber of entertainment centers over the last three years, and
\nfor spreading hatred against the government. The charges carry a
\nmaximum punishment of seven years in jail.<\/p>\n
On Thursday, the Jakarta Prosecutor's Office submitted his
\ncase file to the Central Jakarta Prosecutor's Office who would
\nlater represent the case at the Central Jakarta District Court.<\/p>",
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