Detained activist protests investigators' approach

JAKARTA (JP): A detained activist of the Democratic People's Party (PRD), Petrus Hariyanto, is protesting over what he calls the "unprofessional" investigation into his actions.

Petrus, together with eight other PRD activists has been detained at the Attorney General's Office on charges of inciting the July 27 riot in Jakarta.

"In his letter of protest, Petrus essentially says that the Attorney General's Office has been unprofessional in handling his case," Petrus' lawyer, Irwan Irawan, told The Jakarta Post over the weekend.

The letter of protest dated Oct. 11 was addressed to the attorney general and copies sent to the National Commission on Human Rights and the mass media.

The July 27 riots followed the forcible takeover of the headquarters of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI), which was controlled by followers of deposed chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri, by the supporters of a government-backed PDI faction.

The National Commission on Human Rights, which conducted an independent investigation into the incident, has reported that the riots left five people dead and 23 people missing.

The commission also found that one of the people who died had been shot. The military has persistently said that not even a single bullet was fired.

Last month, the team of lawyers complained to the National Commission on Human Rights that the Attorney General's Office had violated several of the suspects' rights.

One of the concerns raised was that the suspects were detained for a week, from Aug. 11 to Aug. 17, at the Armed Forces' Intelligence Agency for unspecified reasons.

"It was during that period that the suspects were forcibly investigated without any transcripts being made, nor was there any lawyer present to accompany the suspects during questioning," Irwan said.

Petrus' Oct. 11 protest was motivated by an incident the day before, which occurred while he was being questioned by a prosecutor from the General Attorney's office. Petrus was upset that a military intelligence officer was allowed to walk in unannounced during the questioning.

"Besides protesting the way the Attorney General's Office investigators questioned him, Petrus also complained of the presence of the military intelligence officer, who told him that his futile democracy movement would go nowhere," Irwan said.

"Petrus then refused to proceed with the investigation, saying that his concentration had been distracted by the presence of the intelligence officer," Irwan said.

According to Irwan, Petrus threatened to go on a hunger strike if he is questioned in the presence of the military intelligence officer.

Dwiyanto Prihartono, another lawyer defending the PRD activists told the Post that the investigations and the dossiers on the suspects are expected to be completed by November. (14)