Activist gives public account of abduction

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)