Detained Acehnese kept from lawyers
Detained Acehnese kept from lawyers
Nani Farida, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Legal proceedings undertaken by the martial law administration
against hundreds of Acehnese suspected of involvement with the
Free Aceh Movement (GAM) have been questioned, as they were
interrogated without legal representation.
Munarman, a lawyer with the Foundation of the Indonesian Legal
Aid Institute (YLBHI), said that 185 suspected rebels had been
detained by the police and the military in the province and
interrogated without the presence of legal counsel.
"We doubt that any lawyers would have represented the
suspected members of GAM ... we fear that they would have been
afraid to be associated with them," he told The Jakarta Post.
Of the 185 suspects, 71 will immediately go to trial on
charges of treason and subversion, for their alleged attempt to
topple the legitimate government.
As for the 299 suspects currently under custody of the
military, he expressed his doubt that they would see lawyers
during their legal process, as under martial law, the martial law
administration had the right to detain and civilians for 20 days
incommunicado.
According to Law No. 23/1959 on state emergency, security
authorities are allowed to arrest and detain any and all persons
violating any regulation issued by the martial law administration
for 20 days. The detention period can be extended for another 50
days if the interrogation of the detainees has not yet finished.
The law does not stipulate as to whether the detainees must be
accompanied by lawyers or not, but the presence of lawyers are
assumed as it refers to the Criminal Code in indicting suspects.
The police have used the Emergency Law and Article 107 of the
Criminal Code on treason to lay charges against the suspects,
which carry a maximum 30-year jail sentence.
However, all suspects can be acquitted of charges if they
stand trial at a district court and it is found that they were
interrogated in the absence of legal representation.
Legal expert Rudi Satrio at the University of Indonesia said
the suspects should be acquitted, since the legal proceedings
went against the Criminal Codes and the universal principles of
human rights.
He said the rebel suspects should be accompanied by their own
lawyers, regardless of any special circumstances, including
martial law.
"The police should seek material evidence with which to charge
the suspected Acehnese rebels, instead of seeking evidence
through power," he told the Post.
If the legal process against the Acehnese under detention for
committing subversion proceeds without any legal counsel, the
process could be declared unlawful, he said.
Deputy of the Aceh military internal affairs Lt. Col. Sulendra
earlier said that the Emergency Law gave the military the
authority to investigate civilians.
If their involvement with GAM was proven, the military would
hand them over to the police for further questioning, he said.
For the time being, the suspected GAM members are being held
at Keudah prison in Banda Aceh, while alleged GAM members who
have surrendered have been detained in the offices of military
internal affairs or the military district command.
GAM negotiator Sofyan Ibrahim Tiba and Acehnese woman's
activist Cut Nur Asyikin are among those facing subversion
charges.
Sofyan was arrested on May 19 on the day martial law was
imposed by the government in the conflict-ridden province.
Sofyan and Nur have asked to be accompanied by lawyers from
YLBHI.
Syafiie Saragih, a lawyer in Banda Aceh, said that he was
ready to accompany the suspected rebels, as the police had
already asked him to do so on several occasions.
"I have been asked several times to accompany a number of GAM
suspects, including informants and fund raisers," said Syafiie,
who is currently providing legal counsel to American freelance
journalist William Nessen.
Nessen was arrested in Banda Aceh for immigration violations
after he turned himself in to military authorities. He was
traveling with a group of GAM rebels, whom he was allegedly
covering on assignment.