Activist's jail death protested

Suherdjoko, The Jakarta Post/Semarang

Some 25 activists from the Front for Poor People's Struggle (FPRM) staged a protest in front of a government office here on Friday, questioning the government on the recent death of prodemocracy activist Churzaini, alias Saddam Hussein, in his prison cell recently.

Churzaini, a former member of People's Democratic Party (PRD), was found dead in his cell on Saturday, August 21, in Pekalongan Prison, Pekalongan, allegedly due to complications associated with tuberculosis, from which he had suffered for some time. He was convicted in 2002 of slander, after he had distributed pamphlets in the street accusing government officials of involvement in an alleged markup in the construction of Pekalongan bus terminal. He was sentenced to five years in jail.

On Friday, protesters assembled in the vicinity of Langgar market, Semarang, in the morning. They then marched to the West Java office of the Ministry of Human Rights on Jl. DR. Cipto. There, they staged performance art and demanded the ministry dismiss Pekalongan Prison warden Tunggak Dharmono for the death of Churzaini. They also demanded the government thoroughly investigate Churzaini's death.

Nur Badrianto, the protest coordinator, claimed that other non-governmental organizations in Central Java had also staged protests in Pekalongan, Kudus, Solo and Magelang.

Separately, an official at the ministry, Wahyu Triono, said that the activists demands would be conveyed to the head of the Central Java office of the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights for follow-up. Meanwhile, Tunggak was not available for comment on Friday. The Jakarta Post contacted Pekalongan Prison, but to no avail.