Arrested or disappeared? Families, police at odds

Arrested or disappeared? Families, police at odds

M. Taufiqurrahman, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Police admitted on Monday that they had put in custody a number
of people suspected of having links with terrorists, but denied
suggestions that they had violated basic human rights or the
criminal code procedures in arresting them.

National Police Chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar said the accusations
from the suspects' family members that the police had kidnapped
them were untrue, as the officers had produced arrest warrants
prior to taking the suspects in.

"Prior to the arrests, officers in the field issued warrants.
However, many family members declined to sign the warrants," Da'i
said on the sidelines of a hearing with the House of
Representatives' Commission I for defense, security and foreign
affairs.

Da'i was quick to add that the arrests of the terror suspects
were based on information provided by other suspects who had
earlier been captured by the police.

"The information pinpointed their alleged involvement in the
recent string of bombings," he said.

Following a series of terrorist attacks in the country, a
number of Muslim activists -- some manage mosques, others fought
or trained in Afghanistan, some simply harbored a terror suspect
-- have been reported missing by their families. The families now
are accusing the police of unlawful detention.

The Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence
(Kontras) reported that 13 activists from community mosques had
disappeared in Lampung. The Jakarta Legal Aid Institute received
similar reports from 14 families of other Muslim activists.

The most recent accusation of possible police abuse took place
in Surakarta, Central Java, last Monday, as three mosque
activists were reported missing after doing their daily chores.

Rights groups have said that regardless of their involvement
in terrorism or their religious beliefs, the "forced
disappearances" constituted a violation of basic human rights.

In the wake of Bali blasts that claimed the lives of 202
people, mostly foreigners, the Indonesian government enacted a
harsher antiterrorism law that has given the police greater
authority to detain a terror suspect for a maximum of seven
straight days based only on intelligence reports.

In a related development, Detective Police chief Comr. Gen.
Erwin Mappaseng said the suspects were arrested for their alleged
complicity in the latest terrorist attacks.

"Some of them provided refuge for the Bali bombing suspects,
others took part in meetings to plan the bombing and to draw up
plans on follow-up attacks," he said.

When asked if the suspects might have links to major terrorist
suspects now in the custody of the United States government
including Indonesian-born Hambali, Mappaseng said: "No, they have
no involvement whatsoever with Hambali."

Suspects now in police custody include Ahmad Sofyan, Solihin
alias Zaid, Pepen, Rahmat, Sukimin alias Babe, Zubair alias
Lutfi, Farhan alias Samsul Bahri, Muhaimin, all captured in
Jakarta. Ari Wibowo alias Mustofa, Awaludin alias Abu Yasar and
Deni Sitorus captured in Lampung and Ikhsan and Suradi alias Abu
Usman were arrested in Surakarta, Central Jakarta.