Activist gives public account of abduction

JAKARTA (JP): Disappeared activist Rahardjo Waluyo Djati became yesterday the third person to publicly recount his kidnapping, which featured torture and interrogation about his political activities and links.

Rahardjo, 28, a member of the National Committee for Democratic Struggle (KNPD), said he was kidnapped here by several armed men on March 12 and released on April 25.

"They abducted me at Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital," the Gadjah Mada University said.

Speaking before journalists at the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (LBH) office in Central Jakarta, Rahardjo said he was grabbed and then pushed into a red jeep with his head covered by a black cloth.

He was taken to an unidentified location and placed inside a building where he was tortured and interrogated for the first three days.

"I was beaten and given electric shocks just like Pius and Desmon," Rahardjo said referring to Pius Lustrilanang and Desmon J. Mahesa who were also separately abducted and went public with their experiences.

Rahardjo said he was also forced to lie flat on his stomach on an ice block for at least 10 minutes.

Among the information sought by his interrogators was the whereabouts of activist Andi Arief from the outlawed Democratic People's Party

"In a weak and depressed state, I finally told them that maybe they could find Andi in Lampung," Waluyo said.

As reported earlier, Andi was found in the custody of the National Police on April 17, almost three weeks after he was allegedly kidnaped in Lampung.

Andi told lawyers from the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) that he was only handed over to the police by his abductors on April 17.

Police however maintain that Andi had been in their custody since March 29, a day after he disappeared, and was arrested for his alleged involvement in a bomb explosion at a low-cost apartment in Central Jakarta in January.

Rahardjo said he was also asked by his abductors whether retired army general Benny Moerdani and business tycoon Sofjan Wanandi were the financial backers of KNPD.

"I told them that we financed the organization from our own pocket money... Or even our parents' money," he said.

Sofjan was questioned by authorities in January after the military claimed his name was found in a document confiscated from the bombed apartment.

Rahardjo said during his captivity he could sometimes hear the sounds of a people exercising. He said he believed them to be soldiers.

He also said that during his captivity he spoke with a number of activists, including Pius and Haryanto Taslam.

Kontras listed at least seven people as still missing: Yani Avri, Sonny, Herman Hendrawan, Bimo Petrus Anugrah, Suyat, Noval and Dedy Umar Hamdun, husband of actress Eva Arnaz. (byg)