Detained activist protests investigators' approach

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)