Rights commission condemns treatment of Marsinah suspects<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The National Commission on Human Rights says it
\nhas found evidence of rights violations against the people being
\ntried for the murder of labor activist Marsinah, including
\nindications of torture.<\/p>\n
The commission, in one of its most critical statements, urged
\nthe authorities yesterday to look into their charges and punish
\nthe responsible parties.<\/p>\n
The two-page statement, signed by chairman Ali Said, was
\ncareful to avoid naming any particular agency in the government
\nor the military as responsible.<\/p>\n
\"You know the story,\" said Baharuddin Lopa, the commission's
\nsecretary general, who announced the findings of the team looking
\ninto the murder trials, which have been beset with controversy.<\/p>\n
\"It is not within our power to announce the names of any
\nagency which has abused human rights,\" he said when pressed by
\nreporters to name the offending agencies. \"But we will soon send
\nthe results of the investigation to the concerned parties.\"<\/p>\n
The commission launched its investigation after receiving
\ncomplaints from the suspects of torture that elicited false
\nconfessions. They also said the court has not treated their case
\nfairly and that the hearings are designed to ensure a guilty
\nverdict as part of an official coverup.<\/p>\n
Nine are being tried for the murder, all executives and
\nsecurity guards of PT Citra Putra Surya, the watchmaking company
\nin Sidoarjo, East Java, where Marsinah worked. The lone woman
\ndefendant has already been sentenced to seven months imprisonment
\nas an accessory to murder. All the trials are held in Surabaya
\nand Sidoarjo.<\/p>\n
An Army captain is also facing a military tribunal in
\nconnection with Marsinah's death.<\/p>\n
Irregularities<\/p>\n
The Commission said in the statement that it found
\nirregularities in the way the suspects of the murder were
\narrested and treated, including the fact that they were not
\naccompanied by lawyers during interrogation.<\/p>\n
The commission \"also found indications of various forms of
\ntorture, physical and mental.\"<\/p>\n
\"The information was obtained after interviewing a number of
\ninterrogators, both at the Brawijaya Military Command and the
\nEast Java Police, and the suspects and their lawyers.\"<\/p>\n
The statement said that \"other people\" were possibly involved
\nin the murder.<\/p>\n
\"The commission appeals to all agencies involved to stop these
\nabuses of human rights and to question those who may have been
\ninvolved from the initial process of the investigation and punish
\nthem if there is sufficient evidence.\"<\/p>\n
The commission also urged the authorities to look into the
\npossibility that others, besides the suspects, may have been
\ninvolved in the murder.<\/p>\n
It also found unwarranted intervention by the local military
\nagency in the affairs of PT Citra Putra Surya, apparently
\nconfirming earlier suggestions that the local military chief took
\nthe initiative to fire striking workers, which led to further
\nlabor protests and ultimately Marsinah's murder.<\/p>\n
Marsinah's badly mutilated body was found on May 9, 1993 days
\nafter she led a strike. She was last seen alive at the local
\nmilitary command.<\/p>\n
The suspects were abducted by security officials from their
\nhomes in October and their whereabouts were made known two weeks
\nafter their disappearance, after the police formally issued
\nwarrants for their arrest.<\/p>\n
Allegations that their rights had been trampled only surfaced
\nduring the trials, as one by one they retracted the statements of
\nguilt they made to their interrogators, saying they were
\nsubjected to unbearable torture.<\/p>\n
Some claimed their genitals were electrocuted or that they
\nwere forced to drink urine. One suspect said he was forced to mop
\nthe floor with his tongue, another said he had his toes place
\nunder the leg of a chair where his investigator subsequently sat.<\/p>\n
One of the suspects said he was prepared to confess to not one
\nbut twenty murders if it would stop the pain. (prs\/emb)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/rights-commission-condemns-treatment-of-marsinah-suspects-1447899208",
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