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.