Antiterrorism bill ensures human rights
Antiterrorism bill ensures human rights
Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Proposed antiterrorism legislation says that combating
terrorist acts must not violate the law, human rights or
discriminate against people based on tribes, race, religion or
groups.
The latest draft law, obtained by The Jakarta Post on Tuesday,
says that cases taken to court under antiterrorism legislation
will respect Criminal Code procedures, unless the antiterrorism
law stipulates otherwise in exceptional circumstances.
The bill defines terrorism as an illegal act carried out
intentionally that endangers people and their belongings or
sparks widespread destruction, fear or causes deaths.
Terrorism, therefore, can be judged as damage to a range of
targets, including assets, the environment, state secrets,
culture, education, the economy, technology and industry.
The bill threatens terrorists with a minimum three years in
jail and a maximum sentence of death.
Capital punishment will also be imposed on terrorists who
commit attacks using airplanes, or those who misuse chemical,
biological or nuclear materials, it says.
Those who have the intention to carry out such attacks could
be sentenced to up to 15 years jail, the bill reads.
Anyone who smuggles in or out of Indonesia, or manufactures,
receives, hides, or uses weapons, ammunition or explosives with
the intention to terrorize others will also face death.
A company convicted of organizing a terrorist act will be
fined Rp 1 trillion (US$111 million) and will be dissolved and
declared a banned organization.
The bill also says that investigators, prosecutors and judges
can order banks to block and disclose accounts and other
properties of suspected terrorists. When investigating terrorism,
the bill stipulates that bank secrecy laws do not count.
The government and the House of Representatives said Monday
they had agreed to debate the bill as part of efforts to combat
international terrorism in the country.
But human rights activists Hendardi of the Indonesian Legal
Aid and Advocacy Association (PBHI) and Daniel Pandjaitan of the
Indonesian Legal Aid Institute (YLBHI) urged the government not
to rush to endorse the bill.
"I don't see the relevance yet as we have not yet suffered
from the terrorist acts described in the bill," Hendardi said on
Tuesday.
"Introduce it to the public first, but get feedback, consider
it and endorse it in the next three to five years," Daniel said.
Besides, Hendardi said, numerous articles of the bill were
prone to human rights abuses, citing a clause in the bill that an
intention to commit a terrorist act could be punished.
The article that stipulated investigators could ignore bank
secrecy laws and investigate bank account details infringed human
rights, he said.
Several crucial points of the antiterrorism bill
* Terrorist act kills victims, destroys vital facilities
* Combating terrorism must uphold the law and human rights
* Terrorists face death penalties
* Intention to commit terror carries 15 year jail term
* Law on bank secrecy can be ignored in terrorism cases
* The establishment of an ad hoc task unit to formulate
antiterrorism policy and strategy
Source: Antiterrorism bill